


Trust & Loyalty: Turning Point pt 3

by Slaskia



Series: Dangerous Secrets [8]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Decisions, Canonical Character Death, First Meetings, Medical Examination, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Rage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 01:07:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21618919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaskia/pseuds/Slaskia
Summary: Allies start to converge, but Megatron's plans are proceeding....
Relationships: Arcee & Starscream (Transformers), Arcee/Starscream (Transformers), Jetfire & Ratchet, Skywarp & Autobots, Skywarp & Starscream, Skywarp & Wheeljack
Series: Dangerous Secrets [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/898161
Comments: 13
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For new readers...it is highly recommended to read the rest of the 'Dangerous Secrets' series first before this one.
> 
> This took too long...but finally I see the light at the tunnel. I have at most one or two chaps left to write, so I didn't feel like making you guys wait any longer to get it started....
> 
> \--  
> Legend:
> 
> ~ = Telepathy  
> // \\\ = Comm speech  
> # = Written message  
> //# #\\\ = Texting over comms  
> ] [ = Wing language  
> ) ( = translated language

Wilderness

The whole base had taken a somber mood, a sense of impeding dread hanging over them all. It wasn’t helping Wheeljack’s mental state any, though it did help a little that he wasn’t the only one feeling a bit depressed. Which was not surprising, considering what they had learned.

Walking immortal weapon of mass destruction named Starscream. Fragging _Unicron_ under their very feet? Yeah, hard _not_ to feel down about that, especially when the latter was inevitable, according to their resident fortuneteller. Phaseshot had told them that they had the means to avert planetwide destruction, but other things had to happen first. Annoyingly, he wouldn’t say exactly _what_.

Fragger.

In regards to Starscream…frag, Wheeljack wasn’t sure what to think anymore. On the one hand, he was happy to have confirmation that a part of Ebonscream was still around. However…his future was one big fat question mark. Wheeljack was no spark or bonding expert, far from it, but to see even the likes of Ratchet stumped on how to fix this bondrage problem was not a good thing. He hoped something was figured out: he hated the thought that what was left of Ebonscream could be lost forever to bloodthirsty insanity….

Now, what to tell their human allies was a debate on their own. They had quickly decided that Fowler definitely needed the full run down: it’s only fair the world governments are forewarned about possible planet wide extinction events. Who knows, maybe they would have an idea or two to assist. Not Wheeljack’s field anyway: let the Prime handle the politics scrap.

As for the kids…they were very happy to see Arcee again and understandably wary of Starscream. Miko predictably whined about having to ‘wait longer for a dragon ride’. However, that happy reunion was short lived when they quickly caught on that something was amiss. They ultimately gave them the ‘lighter’ version: Megatron’s current plans could doom the world, essentially.

~~

 _“So typical ‘end of the world’ type stuff, got it!”_ _Miko exclaimed with a thumbs up sign._

_“That’s awfully upbeat and casual of ya considerin’ your world may soon be about to be destroyed…,” Wheeljack had commented._

_“To be fair, Wheeljack,” Jack had spoken up. “Hollywood puts out a lot of movies and such about the world ending.”_

_“You could say we are a bit…desensitized,” Miko added with a shrug._

~~

Wheeljack had to agree with Ratchet after that: watching a movie is not the same as experiencing the real thing. However, if it kept them from panicking and fretting over something they can’t do anything about, a good thing? Though Miko did express distain over potentially missing a ‘Metallica’ concert…whatever that was.

Aside from the kids being…what was the world Bulkhead used…’chill’ over the whole deal, the other positive was that Ratchet lifted the suicide watch on him early. Wheeljack had immediately left in the Jackhammer: he needed to get away from the base for a bit. Figured he patrol for Con activity while he was out, but he was also hoping to get into contact with Skywarp. He hadn’t heard a peep from the seeker since the day he was caught in the base and Wheeljack was getting worried.

He had tried contacting Skywarp a few times since that day, however he had yet to get a response. The last time Skyhwarp couldn’t comm him, he at least _told_ him why, which left an uneasy feeling in his tank. It had to do with what happened last time he saw the seeker, he was sure of it: he could tell Skywarp hadn’t wanted to leave that day, not after finally reuniting with Starscream. Whatever Yarzon wanted him for must have been important. 

They already knew Yarzon didn’t want to be involved in their war…and he was as paranoid as any other Quintesson. What if there was the chance Yarzon decided to leave the planet and take Skywarp with him? The very thought made him feel sick in the spark for some reason. Each time Skywarp failed to respond, that feeling got worse.

Now it’s been almost three Earth cycles and Wheeljack had just tried comming him again. By this point he wasn’t expecting a response, so he jumped when he actually _did._ It was just a set of coordinates, but at least it was _something_. As he turned the Jackhammer toward the location, he considered letting the base know.

Nah, he’s a Wrecker. They don’t call for back up. He’d rather it be a trap than Skywarp wanting to say goodbye anyway.

It didn’t take long to reach the location. A familiar one: it was the place they first ‘met’ on this world. This left an uneasy feeling in his tank as he approached the plateau. Wheeljack couldn’t see Skywarp, but that didn’t mean much: the seeker was likely cloaked. After he landed, he quickly disembarked.

“Warp?” he called out, looking for any sign, any hint, of the seeker. Then, by the tree, he saw something materialize. Wheeljack started to feel relieved, but that relief quickly returned to worry when he analyzed Skywarp’s body language.

The seeker was leaning heavily on the tree, his only optic was not as bright as it was when he last saw him. Those ‘wings’ were down, signaling distress. Something was very wrong. 

“Warp…what happened?” he asked, approaching him. The moment Wheeljack reached out and touched him, the seeker practically collapsed into his arms. “Whoa! Easy…easy! I got ya….” He carefully sat the seeker down on the ground. “I’m gonna call Ratchet….”

//#No…,#\\\ Skywarp sent him. //#I’m fine. Just. Tired.#\\\

Well that was somewhat a relief. “Why? Is that Quint workin’ ya too hard for some reason?”

Skywarp was shaking his head as he leaned against him. “//#No…jus haven’t been able to recharge lately. Too upset…processor too busy.#\\\

Oh no. He didn’t like where this was going. “Why?” he dared to ask. “Yarzon’s gonna do somethin’ stupid…isn’t he?”

Skywarp huffed in apparent disgust and he felt the seeker stiffen, a flash of rage passing over his face. //#He intends to leave, Jackie….#\\\ Skywarp told him. //#Abandon him…and the very reason I fought to keep on functioning.#\\\

Wheeljack felt his spark sink into his tank. Primus, why couldn’t his instinct be _wrong_ for once!? “So…this is goodbye then?” he asked, softly, not liking how his voice threatened to crack.

//#No. I’m staying.#\\\ Wheeljack was both very surprised and elated to see those words appear in his HUD. //#Im not going to abandon him. I’ll do one last supply run for that paranoyd squid, than he’s on his own.#\\\

Wheeljack wordlessly nodded as he sat down, then started to lightly rub the seeker’s back. “Well, I’m glad you’re sticking around…and I know Screamer will be too. Not sure how he’ll take Yarzon turnin’ tail though….”

//#Thats whats been keeping me up and whyI haven’t responded,#\\\ Skywarp confessed. //#Figurin out how to break it to him. I didn’t want to say anythin until I did#\\\

“And thinkin’ is not your thin’.” He felt Skywarp laugh faintly at that, before he went from leaning on him, to laying across his lap.

//#Maybe let Prime handle ithes the diplowhatits guy#\\\

“Oh…so you are going to join us then?” There was a nod. “Havin’ you with us would be a great help against Megatron and his goons, Sky. Especially once Ratchet fixes you up.” Another nod.

//#Did you.cmoe up with anythin to stop hat bondrage crap?#\\\ From the increasing number of mistakes in his messages, Skywarp was struggling to stay coherent.

“Right now, from what the Doc concluded, we can’t really do anything while he’s missing that part of his spark,” Wheeljack explained. “Can’t fix broken equipment if ya don’t have all the pieces, after all. Can’t exactly build a new _spark_ either….”

//#Purhaps, once I’m fixed up.I can search Nemsis for it,#\\\ Skywarp offered, his optic lids drifting closed. 

“That’s an idea,” Wheeljack agreed. “If we can’t fix it…we can ensure Buckethead can’t set him off. In the meantime, we’ve been figurin’ out ways to contain him in case he does ‘blow’.”

//#suchas?#\\\ From how limp the seeker was, he was barely awake now. He replied anyway, to be polite.

“Well, can only speak for myself…but I came up with a couple of ideas for capture devices. Hard to calibrate how strong to make ‘em though, as we have no idea how strong that bondrage thin’ makes someone. So I played it safe and calibrated it for Bulkhead’s strength level. Figured a petite seeker like him couldn’t be stronger than that no matter how mad he was, right?”

//#srrydidntcatch all that.urvoice is heaven…..#\\\

Wait…what? What did he call his voice? Wheeljack looked down at him. From the closed optic and his intake rate, Skywarp was in recharge.

“Heh…,” Wheeljack chuckled as he gently stroked the seeker’s head and looked out over the canyon, which was starting to be painted in sunset colors. “Recharge well, Sky…I don’t intend to go anywhere while ya do….”

He was just glad he wasn’t losing him anytime soon, though he wasn’t sure why he felt that way for a bot he barely knew.

\--

Autobot Base

Ratchet sighed and rubbed his face. They weren’t really getting anywhere on solving this problem. Too little information and that Starscream is an outliner complicates things. Yes, the seeker being immortal does give them _plenty_ of time to research and test their theories, however, all data they gathered they had to treat with suspicion. With Starscream’s spark being ‘incomplete’, readings may not be a hundred percent accurate. It would be ideal if his spark was complete, but that was not advisable for obvious reasons. They had to work with what they had.

Fortunately, the seeker was being a good sport about it so far. Patiently letting them take multiple readings and perform some minor tests. Ratchet admittedly felt a bit guilty about putting him through this, since as ‘Nightfire’ he was put through so many tests and experiments in the past. Unethical and painful ones. However, Starscream clearly understood this was needed, if they were going to solve this problem.

After two days, though, everyone needed a break. Do something different other than bashing their heads against a metaphorical wall. Starscream had left to go on a walk somewhere, Arcee accompanying him. He and Jetfire were working on other projects which needed to be done.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee were playing with the kids. Optimus was doing his own research. Phaseshot…was also doing research he believed. The former dragon had been staying up in his ‘lair’ a lot, only coming down to grab his ration of energon. He did seem a bit disturbed at one point, but just shook his head when asked about it. Probably wasn’t ‘allowed’ to talk about it, which was disturbing on its own.

As for Wheeljack…who knew what that loner was doing. He had immediately taken off in his ship the moment the medic took him off suicide watch and reactivated his T-Cog. The Wrecker did claim he was going to patrol for Con activity and such, since they all knew Megatron would still be searching an Astral Well. Ratchet suspected he may also be trying to get back into contact with Skywarp as well. 

At least he came up with some ideas for restraining devices before he ran off. Hopefully he intended to build them himself and not leave _him_ to do it. He has enough projects as is! He’ll bug the Wrecker later about that, if he ever bothered to return that is. At present, a more…personal…question was on his mind.

“So why me?” Ratchet asked as he looked toward Jetfire. It was a question that had been in the back of his processer ever since that morning he woke up in the seeker’s arms. “Just…how does and old washed up bot like me draw your interest?”

The seeker paused in his work and smiled at him sheepishly, a faint blush appearing on his face. “To be completely honest…it started with, as Starscream would say, my ‘fetish’ for bulkier types,” he admitted as he turned toward him completely. “You caught my optic the moment I first saw you on this planet.…”

Huh…so he _hadn’t_ imagined that ‘interested’ look on his face then. “And here I thought that look was due to the effects of energon starvation.”

“For a while, I wondered myself if it was only due to that,” Jetfire stated softly. “Especially, after I realized you were so fixated on Arcee. I felt like I had no chance…had failed before I even tried. Like every other time….”

Ratchet could see the pain of many rejections in his optics. “You’ve…been searching for a partner for some time….”

“Pretty much ever since my courtship coding activated,” Jetfire replied with a sad smile.

The medic simply nodded in acknowledgment, not wanting to risk saying the wrong thing here. As a medic, he knew some bots were more ‘driven’ to find a life partner than others, Jetfire was obviously one of them. Himself, he didn’t feel that ‘drive’ until he first met Arcee.

What a disaster that turned out to be.

“Courtship comes so _easily_ for some bots…,” Jetfire was lamenting with a sigh. “Skywarp for instance, probably could flirt the plating off just about anyone if he really wanted to. Me…I have the courtship skills of a scraplet…and Skywarp actually tried to help me a few times in that department.”

Ratchet couldn’t help but shudder a bit at that information. From what he knew about Skywarp, that…was probably pretty disastrous. Skywarp didn’t come off as the type that could effectively teach anyone….

“Well…I’m not big on the whole courtship or flirtation thing, so I think you’re safe in that department,” Ratchet commented with a chuckle. “I…just ask that you be patient with me. After longing for one bot for so long, it’s taking time to…flush that out of my system, so to speak.”

Jetfire was giving him a warm smile. “I waited this long, Ratch…I can wait a bit longer.” The seeker then reached over and cupped the side of his face. Ratchet gasped at the sensation. “I’ll wait as long as it takes….”

“Weh-ell…there’s a chance you may have to bash me over the head if I take too long,” Ratchet quipped, putting on hand on his.

“No problem…can I use one of your wrenches in that event?”

“No.” Ratchet gave him a grin. “That is _my_ quirk for problematic patients.”

“I thought your ‘quirk’ was your bad berthside manner?” Jetfire was grinning himself now. “I don’t think you’re allowed to have _two_.”

“Cheeky little…!” Ratchet playfully shoved him, Jetfire laughing in response. Before things could escalate further, their comm console started flashing. 

It was on the emergency frequency….

\--

_Meanwhile…._

Wilderness

The canopy was thick above them, only dim rays of fading light penetrating through. It left the forest they were patrolling through feeling a bit eerie and oppressive. Just needed a layer of fog on the forest floor to complete the scene, to match the gloominess in Starscream’s processor.

“You’ve been distant….”

Starscream paused in his stride to look at Arcee. The two-wheeler was looking up at him with concern, perhaps a bit of sorrow. It stabbed at what was left of his spark to see that, but it couldn’t be helped. He hadn’t expected what was actually _wrong_ with him to be that serious…deadly. 

“Can you blame me, after what we all learned?” he commented softly as he continued walking. A part of him wished he had never found out, to keep on going in blissful ignorance. But that would have left everyone in greater danger, wouldn’t it? Better the enemy you know is there than the one unseen in the shadows and all that.

“So you are running away, mentally, this time?” Arcee asked pointedly.

Starscream flinched, then sighed. “Perhaps I am…,” he confessed. “The sting of guilt won’t be so harsh if I end up killing someone I’m not closely acquainted with….”

There was a faint snort. “All keeping your distance will accomplish is making your life a lonely one,” she stated, her tone sad. “I tried that once, after Tailgate was killed. I ended up with only having the war to live for, my only focus. I forgot who I really was, until Cliffjumper broke through to me.”

He flinched again, this time at that name. “I’m…sorry about him….,” he stated softly. “It was my command that-“

“You weren’t yourself then,” Arcee interrupted, though he caught the hint of tension in her voice.

“But I am still responsible…for that life and so many others,” Starscream insisted, adding in a lower tone. “And I fear many more to come….”

“We’ll find a way to fix you,” she insisted, Starscream felt her hand on his forearm. “There _has_ to be a way…I’m sure of it!”

He stopped and faced her, seeing the determination on her face. It was both touching and worrying. “Why are you so determined to help me?” he asked. “Many others would have locked me up and thrown the key into a smelter by now.”

At this the two-wheeler smirked. “A certain dragon told me the next one I fell in love with would last me the rest of my life,” she replied. “Guess who that is?”

He felt both elated and terrified at the same time. “Arcee…I could be the one that ends your life!”

“And despite that, I still intend to do everything I can,” Arcee insisted. She moved her hand to his chest and lowered her gaze briefly. As she looked back up at him, her voice took on an almost awestruck tone. “Besides…I was commanded by the All…Primus…itself, to restore you. I can’t exactly refuse that…can I?”

 _Primus itself wants me restored?_ That filled him with such intense emotion…hope and relief. If what she said was true, it meant Primus _could_ see him…trying to reach him.

To connect with him.

“Arcee…I….” He struggled to get the words out, his voice threatening to crack, optics clouding a little. “Thank you…hearing that…makes me feel so much better.” He took her hands into his own. “I…want nothing more than to live a normal life again…and…if I am ever allowed to…I’d like that to be with you….”

Arcee’s face was briefly one of surprise, then softened into the sweetest smile he had ever seen. It caused the first genuine happy smile to form on his own face in so long….

Then he was slammed against a tree, stunning him. He groaned and shook his head, trying to clear his head, briefly shutting his optics to reboot them. What happened? Why couldn’t he move his upper arms? Did he offend her somehow? 

No. It sounded like Arcee was struggling herself. When he opened his optics he saw she was webbed by the arms to a different tree, a distance away. She was pulling with all her might to free herself, a furious expression on her face.

Webs.

Airachnid.

Oh no.

“So sorry to interrupt such a _tender_ scene…,” the spider bot cooed as she appeared from the shadows. “But our Lord Megatron wishes for you to return, Starscream.”

“He is not _my_ Lord!” Starscream spat as he started pushing with his legs, trying to pull free. “And I’ll never go back!” Ugh, this may take a while. Strength wasn’t his forte. He tried reaching up with his forearms to try to cut the webbing with his claws. However, the webbing was just low and thick enough to prevent that. However…his missiles _were_ fully regenerated now and he could move his forearms just enough….

“Oh I’m afraid you don’t have a choice in this matter, my dear,” Airachnid cooed, waving a hand dismissively as she approached Arcee. “And I get the bonus of bringing him Arcee’s head with you! It will look good on my wall….”

“Take this instead!” Starscream aimed his right forearm and fired a missile.

There was a satisfying cry of pain from the spider bot as the missile exploded on the ground next to her. Airachnid was sent tumbling away for a few paces, disappearing into the shadows. A brief respite, hopefully long enough for them to free themselves. Arcee, at least, managed to get one arm free.

Then she was aiming her blaster at him. His optics widened in surprise. Was she trying to end him to prevent Megatron from reclaiming him? No, her aim was off….

~Please let this work….~ The telepathic speech was weak, like she wasn’t fully focusing her thoughts in his direction. Or, more likely, her not realizing she could send in this form. Regardless, it reassured him, and he nodded in understanding.

Arcee was able to fire off only a couple of shots before a gob of webbing shot out of the darkness and secured that arm to a different tree. Starscream raised his left arm in preparation to fire his remaining missile as Airachnid reappeared, but quickly realized he didn’t have a good angle. He was just as likely to hit Arcee than the wretch, which he didn’t want.

And Airachnid knew it.

“Naughty seeker!” Airachnid chided as she threw more webbings around him, completely immobilizing his arms. “Megatron will need to teach you some manners when I drag you back. Now…where was I before I was so rudely interrupted….” She put on a mock thinking pose. “Oh yes….” She turned and started approaching Arcee, whom had even less leverage than before to free herself.

 _No!_ Starscream struggled hard. Arcee’s blaster shots weakened the webbing, but with the new batch of it restricting his movement range further, he knew he won’t break free in time.

“I’ll finish what I started that one day,” Airachnid was stating with a cruel smile.

 _No…this can’t be happening!_ But why…why did he feel like he had seen this before?

Everything started in front of him started to shift. The forest and it’s ample trees and bushes changed into an arena filled with Decpiticons baring witness. Airachnid was overlayed with the visage of Megatron. Arcee didn’t seem to change much…just became more desaturated in coloration? Perhaps her face was slightly different? Regardless, she was in the center of the pit, shackled to two poles.

Megatron was finishing a speech.

_“…For the crime of treason, I sentence you to death!”_

“This time, stay dead…,” Airachnid’s voice echoed over the distant memory, her barely visible form raising a spider claw in unison with Megatron’s arm cannon.

 _No! Please!_ _Not again…not again!_ Despair and hopelessness filled him as he called out her name.

A pause, Megatron turning to look at him, a cruel smirk on his face. Or was that confusion? It didn’t matter, as Starscream felt his mind slipping away into something primal and uncontrollable.

Must kill. Kill the one that harmed her. Slay the one that took her away.

A blood curdling screech emitted from his vocalizer as he pulled against those that held him. They could not hold him. Their grip torn away like ripping cloth. Unbound, he charged at his prey. 

Their optics were wide in shock, then fear as they attempted to run. To escape. Not quick enough. He was upon them with lightning speed, his claws starting to tear into them.

Energon splattered, wires seized and sparked, cries of pain and agony. He felt occasional pain, his prey futilely trying to fight back, but he ignored it effortlessly. Not even the pain that hit him in the chest stopped him. Pain didn’t matter to him, only rending his foe to pieces. A panel here, a limb there. All thrown aside as he slashed and tore.

Begging and pleading for him to stop, to give mercy. He did not heed it. Deeper and deeper he tore into that chassis. Tanks, pumps, major lines, ripped away and severed.

There was a glowing yellow orb, bright with life before him now. He seized it and tore it out. The body below him shuddered once, then went still and quiet.

The arena disappeared; the forest returned. Clarity, reality, came to him. Starscream gasped in shock at what he did and staggered back. He dropped the Airachnid’s spark in the process: the orb sputtering once and dissipating once it hit the ground. He didn’t remember doing what he just did, but it didn’t matter, for it was obvious.

Airachnid was dead. Ripped to pieces by his own claws. But was she the only victim?

Dread filling his spark, he turned to where he last saw Arcee….


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rage aftermath

What she had just witnessed…was pure horror.

Arcee had seen the aftermath before, but never actually _watched_ it happen. That…was like nothing she had experienced before. Nothing like on the field of battle during the war. Deaths during war can be brutal, yes, but this…this was far beyond that. The savagery, the violence…it made war deaths look _tame_.

And Airachnid…she had always teased her that if she took her life, that she had to ‘make it hurt’. Her nemesis actually _begged_ and _pleaded_ for him to stop! Those cries only seemed to spur Starscream on. 

Arcee had been tempted to tell him to stop, as a part of her felt that not even a cruel bot like Airachnid deserved this. Yet, she recalled the witness statements on what happened during these events. Calling out would make him target her next. Stay still. Stay quiet. So she did.

Then it was over, Starscream staggering away in horror at what he had done. He looked her way, panic turning to relief when he saw she was unharmed. Arcee could only stare, hang there in her webby shackles, her mind still coming to full terms over what she had seen. 

His expression changed to concern, then understanding. He looked away, red optics closing briefly, wings lowered, shame and regret dominating his body language. Then he reached out, Arcee flinching sub-consciously, though consciously she knew he wouldn’t hurt her now.

That hand gently cupped her face and he looked at her with such longing and sorrow. She knew what he was thinking: was there really any hope for us? Arcee wanted to tell him there was, but her body was behind in the recovering from the shock department, though her mind wasn’t _that_ far ahead.

The hand left her face, then slashed across the webbing restraining one of her hands, freeing it. He did the same with the other. Only then did she notice how much he was trembling.

“We…,” Starscream started to say, though from his tone he didn’t seem clear on what he wanted to do. “We should contact the base…leave here…neither of us are in any condition to fight …if they come to find out what happened to her.”

Arcee slowly nodded, her body and mind finally getting in sync. She accessed her comm systems and initially hit the emergency frequency channel, which would send a signal burst to base. It would alert the rest of the team that something major had happened and may require back up.

Nano’s latter, she got a response.

//Ratchet here…I’m setting the ground bridge to your location now. What happened?\\\

How to describe this? “There’s been an incident…,” she described simply, aware of how her voice was trembling. “Airachnid…is dead. If you send anyone here…they better have a strong constitution….”

//Oh Primus….\\\ That had been enough for the medic to get what she was referring to. A split nano later, the ground bridge opened: Ratchet and Jetfire came though. Jetfire covered his mouth in horror and looked a bit nauseous. Ratchet…just sighed.

“Are either of you hurt?” the medic asked.

“I think I’m fine…,” Arcee replied softly. “Star?” Her optics widened when she looked upon him and realized a detail she had missed.

Airachnid, in her attempt to stop her demise, had stabbed Starscream in the spark chamber. She could see the glowing white light of his spark through the hole in his chest plate. Both Ratchet and Jetfire noticed as well.

“Oh Primus…,” Jetfire breathed. “As if we needed any further proof of your immortality….”

Starscream looked down and sighed when he saw the hole himself. “Yeah…,” he agreed. “As for other injuries…I…I think I need a trip to the wash racks first to know for sure…,” the seeker replied grimly, briefly looking over his energon splattered frame. “I do feel some pain in places….” Ratchet was just nodding in acknowledgement.

“Should we…bury her?” Jetfire was asking as they prepared to go back through the portal.

“A bot like her…,” Ratchet grumbled bitterly. “Doesn’t deserve a proper burial.”

Acree found herself disagreeing to an extent, as it went against Optimus’ teachings. She didn’t have the will to argue right now, so she silently followed them along with Starscream through the portal….

\--

Autobot Base

First thing Ratchet did was a quick examination of Arcee first. She was, indeed, unharmed…physically anyway. The medic had no doubt she had some mental scarring after what she witnessed, despite being a seasoned warrior.

As for Starscream, he did have some other wounds Ratchet could spot with his trained medic’s optics. He saw even more once the seeker had returned from washing up. Starscream insisted on being restrained as a precaution, one Arcee agreed with, before either would go into detail on what happened. It would complicate things when it came to doing his repairs, but he agreed.

Still, it took a moment before either of them started speaking.

“She ambushed us,” Arcee started simply before going into full detail, Starscream giving his input as well. “When he called out ‘her’ name, I knew he had to be going through a flashback,” she stated. “He…went into rage mode at that point. Pulled free of Airachnid’s webbing like it was nothing…then…ripped her apart.” A shudder passed through her frame as she hugged herself.

“She tried to fight back, but it was like he was oblivious to pain,” Arcee continued. “She even started _begging for mercy_! He didn’t stop though…only stopped once he had ripped her spark out….”

“And that was the point I…became aware of what happened,” Starscream stated grimly. “I didn’t remember what happened…but I didn’t _need_ to….” A sigh. “I freed Arcee…and we both knew contacting the base was best move…as we didn’t know how quickly they would come to check on her and neither of us was in any condition to fight.”

“A wise decision,” Optimus agreed.

“So…we don’t have to worry about Airachnid anymore?” Jack was commenting.

“No, Jack…,” Arcee replied. “She’s no longer a threat…on a rather _permanent_ basis.”

“Thank goodness…,” the dark-haired human sighed with relief.

“As grim as this incident was, it does give us more insight on bond-rage,” Ratchet commented grimly. “We now have a better idea how what…physical enhancements…bond-rage gives the inflicted. Numbness to pain…increased strength and likely speed….”

“I can confirm the speed increase,” Phaesshot commented. “He moved like the wind during the incident at the _elnserzi_.” Ratchet nodded in acknowledgement.

“At least he’s a indicator-class seeker frame, which are not known for strength...,” Jetfire remarked, though there was a hint of uncertainty. “Still…that it seems to give him near Bulkhead level strength is frightening. Can you imagine if Bulkhead, or someone equal or greater to his strength, had this?” 

Everyone collectively shuddered.

“Let’s hope we don’t witness something like that anytime soon,” Bulkhead muttered.

“Agreed. That said,” Ratchet spoke up. “Wheeljack may want to recalculate the strength of his restraint concepts. It would probably be a good idea to run some more tests on his capabilities in this state…safely…since we know how to temporarily trigger it.”

“I am…uncomfortable…with that idea,” Starscream announced. “One slip-up and you could lose a valuable member of the team.”

“That’s why we will take every possible precaution,” Optimus stated. “But first, we need Wheeljack back here for his input.”

“I’ll go poke Jackie on the comms,” Bulkhead offered, the big bot making his way to the communications console.

“In the meantime!” Miko spoke up. “Can ya tell what exactly this ‘bond-rage’ stuff is? It sounds both awesome and scary as heck!”

Ratchet, and a couple other bots he noticed, groaned and rolled their optics. Suppose it was only fair…they already told them about one potentially world ending event….

\--

Wilderness

Wheeljack awoke with a start. When his optics were fully online he could see it was nighttime. Frag…he must have dozed off. Just what is it about this seeker that caused him to relax so easily? Out in the open on top of that! He did a quick scan of his surroundings to ensure there were no threats were close by, before looking down at Skywarp.

The seeker was still in deep recharge. It was almost comical how such a tall seeker such as he was using him as a pillow. Most of the seeker wasn’t even _in_ his lap due to the size difference: the lower half of his torso and all of his legs were just laying on the dusty earth, while his arms were splayed out in the opposite direction. Gave the impression of a cybercat laying themselves out to soak up as much solar energy as possible. It was rather…charming. 

Something was flashing in his HUD. Checking it, he discovered the base apparently had been attempting to contact him: there were a half-dozen ‘missed comms’ pings, the most recent being less than a klik ago. Well, now he knew what woke him up.

 _Scrap, must be important if they kept trying like that._ Wheeljack glanced over at the Jackhammer, wondering how many ‘missed comms’ pings were on it’s comm console. He was just about to comm back when he was briefly blinded by the light of a ground bridge appearing next to him.

Logically, it was likely someone from the base taking the next step when someone didn’t answer their comms. However, there was _always_ the chance it was the Cons deciding to say ‘hello’. With that in mind, Wheeljack transformed one hand into a blaster, while he used the other to shield Skywarp the best he could. It wasn’t needed, as it was someone from the base. Unfortunately, that someone was the _worst_ one to decide to see what was up with him.

Bulkhead had stared at him for only a few nanos before he started snickering.

 _Aw scrap…._ Wheeljack sighed dejectedly, deactivating his blaster. “Bulk…don’t even….”

“Got something going on you’re not telling us, Jackie?” the green Wrecker teased, a broad grin on his face. 

“It’s not what ya think!” Wheeljack snapped desperately, immediately feeling a bit guilty when Skywarp shifted in response. “This just…happened….”

“Uh huh.” Bulkhead then reached up for his comms. “Bulkhead here, he’s fine…just.” He started snickering again. “Serving as a pillow for a certain seeker….”

Wheeljack looked at the sky in a ‘why me’ manner. “Thanks a lot, Bulk,” he grumbled. _Ugh…so much for my ‘tough bot’ rep…._ “So what’s so important that ya tracked me down out here anyway?”

At this his friend’s mirth stopped and was replaced by a serious, even grim, expression. “We need ya back at the base, Jackie,” he stated. “Screamer had another one of those…’fits’….”

 _Oh no…._ Skywarp must have been more awake than he thought, as the seeker suddenly propped himself up on his elbows. He still looked tired, but was definitely very interested, and worried, on what was going on.

“Who did we lose?” Wheeljack hesitantly asked.

“No one on our side, thankfully,” Bulkhead replied. “Con’s are short one spider bitch now though.”

Only one bot he could be talking about.

“Airachnid’s deactivated?” Bulkhead nodded.

//#Good riddance!#\\\ Skywarp sent him, a sentiment Wheeljack agreed with.

“I didn’t see it myself, but from what we were told…she was literally ripped to pieces. Must have been pretty bad…as Jetfire looked rather nauseous when they came back.”

//#Sounds…similar to what he did to that one Quint…and Silverdive….#\\\ Skywarp commented.

Considering his past with Quintessons, that wasn’t surprising. This Silverdive bot though he had never heard of before. He’ll ask about him later, as clearly there were more important things to be worried about. “OK, so one dead Con…why do they need me to come back?” he asked.

“’Cause apparently when in rage mode he ripped through Airachnid’s webbing like it was nothing,” Bulkhead replied. “Suggesting he’s a lot stronger in that ‘mode’ than we thought.”

“Scrap…I heard those webs are no joke either,” Wheeljack agreed. “Alright, tell ‘em I am on my way back. Not leavin’ the _Jackhammer_ here….”

Bulkhead nodded and a few nano’s later a new ground bridge opened up. After the fellow Wrecker disappeared into it, he looked down at Skywarp. The seeker was looking back up at him with a slightly sorrowful expression.

“Ya already said you’re going to join us,” Wheeljack reminded him as the both got to their feet. “Perhaps you should come back with me this time?”

Skywarp didn’t respond for a several nanos. //#May as well for now,#\\\ he sent with a shrug. //#Yarzy must have turned in early as I only got an auto-response from the _R’aagun_. The coords I got are too far out and not on the way back to your base.#\\\

 _R’aagun…so that’s the name of their ship._ Definitely a Quintesson name: he’ll have to ask Starscream or Optimus if it meant anything later.

“Let’s board the _Jackhammer_ then,” Wheeljack stated. “Perhaps we can figure out a way to break the bad news about Yarzon to Screamer on the way….”

He heard a despondent sigh in response….

\--

Autobot Base

Starscream paced, his processor racing. How naïve were these Autobots!? They now know what bondrage is capable of, yet they still won’t lock him up for their own safety! They were fragging lucky the rage ended before he had turned his attention to Arcee! He wasn’t allowed to ‘lock himself ‘up either. No, they wanted him here for when Wheeljack returned. 

Though the news that Skywarp was essentially cuddling with the Wrecker did soothe him somewhat. It had been such a long time since that seeker allowed himself to act that way toward someone. It was a question on if Skywarp was doing so with Wheeljack simply because he was first contact with another Cybertronian since Aquatron, or if it was genuine attraction. Skywarp’s tastes, from what he observed, were so broad he may as well have everyone on his ‘hook up’ list.

 _He needs someone…_ Starscream knew Skywarp had to have been so desperately lonely since Thundercracker’s death. He had always been the more sociable of the four of them and being stuck with just a Quintesson for so long had to have been maddening. Starscream wondered if he drove Yarzon mad with his need for socialization.

Yarzon…what exactly happened with him after he left him after the Wrath War? He had to have a decent-sized ship considering Skywarp’s been with him: the personal craft he had taken when he left Cybertron was far too small. Starscream also doubted the Quintesson Hierarchy would have just _let_ him have such a ship. No, there’s probably quite a story to tell behind his Master’s acquisition of it. He was curious on what kind of mischief those two had gotten into since then.

Then again, Yarzon was likely considered ‘old’ by Quintesson standards these days. Which meant he was likely far more paranoid and cautious now…and that would further help to explain his reluctance to aid them directly. Convincing his old mentor to help them was likely going to be a _very_ uphill battle.

“Mind not wearing a trench into the floor?” Ratchet grumbled irately.

“Leave him be, Ratch,” Jetfire countered. “He does this when he has a lot on his processor, best to let him at it. Unless you rather the alternative? Him throwing things or being destructive in general.”

Starscream snorted with annoyance. “I don’t do _that_ when I am like this, Jetfire…you know that!” he sniped.

“Oh that’s right…you haven’t gotten into the hi-grade yet….” There was a broad smirk on his face. Starscream made a rude gesture toward him in response.

“So he’s one of those ‘destructive drunks’ then?” Arcee quipped, brow raised.

“Not always,” Jetfire replied. “It depends on the ‘reason’ he started drinking. I ‘heard’ that once he drank with the Winglord and wound up in the berth with him….”

“Jetfire…the _kids_ are here…,” Ratchet was whispering loudly as Starscream stiffened in shock.

“Ooooh…,” Miko, of course, cooed. “Got a shameful drinking tale to tell us, Screamer!?”

“J-just where did you hear about that!?” he cried, unable to stop the blush forming on his face as he whirled around to face him. _Zephyr promised not to tell anyone!_ “And no! Nothing happened aside from both of us going into recharge!”

“Aw….” Miko looked disappointed. Jack was rolling his fleshy optics.

“I prefer to keep my sources anon…,” Jetfire was giving him a smirk. A few other Autobot’s were snickering, Arcee included.

Starscream groaned and rubbed his face. It was no doubt Skywarp. With his capabilities he could spy on _anyone_ if he really wanted to. That this knowledge hadn’t spread like wildfire back then….

Then again, Skywarp, for all his gossipy tendencies, _did_ know when to keep his intake shut. After all, he kept his identity as Nightfire and the truth of his origins to himself for all this time. Perhaps he only told Jetfire as a ‘get out of jail free card’ when he was caught attempting a prank in his lab? Yes, that seems to be the most likely scenario….

“So just what is on your processor anyway?” Ratchet grumbled.

“Aside from the obvious?” Starscream replied with a sneer. “That you’re being fools for not locking me up _now_ before Megatron sets me off?”

“We can’t run tests if you are ‘locked up’,” Ratchet pointed out.

“Please…you’re not running tests _right now_ ,” Starscream countered. “So why are you taking such a risk?”

“Because you would be unable to contribute to the greater cause in confinement, Starscream,” Optimus replied. “Remember that Megatron is still seeking an _elnserzi_ to plunder, along with who knows what other plans he may have. Your history within the Decepticon ranks is valuable experience we need to counter such plans.” After a pause he added. “Just as your experience among Quintessons aided us greatly during the Wrath War.”

Ugh…he had a point. He can’t help fight against Megatron and his trope of blind followers if he was locked up. “Fine…,” he conceded with a sigh. “Just make sure you are ready at all times for when the ‘fuse’ is inevitably lit….”

“If it comes down to it, I’m sure Phasy can just cast a spell on you,” Bumblebee quipped.

“Call me ‘Phasy’ again and I’ll ensure your paint job is permanently pink and orange…,” the beastformer grumbled.

Starscream chuckled. “Not a fan of ‘cute’ nicknames’ are we?” he asked, a smirk on his face.

“They are pointless,” Phaseshot growled. “And degrading.”

“I agree. Think you can teach me a spell to counter anyone that calls me ‘Screamer’?”

“Magic in _your_ hands would be detrimental to the world,” Phaseshot scoffed.

“I’m already a ‘detriment’ to this world…so what difference would it make?” he countered, putting his hands on his hips.

Phaseshot now had a cheeky smile on his face. “Because I believe the more intelligent inhabitants of this world would rather said world be in its natural colors before it ended.”

“Oh I don’t know!” Miko pipped up. “I think the world being in pastel or even neon colors would be _great_!”

“Oh gods, no Miko!” Jack countered, a hand over his face.

“Or be rendered permanently silenced,” Phaseshot stated, then put on a thoughtful expression. “Though that may not be so bad…I wouldn’t have to hear that racket you call ‘music’ anymore….”

“I agree!” Ratchet boosted; one hand raised high in support.

“Hey!” the tiny human protested. “Not my fault you bots don’t have any sense of _taste_ when it comes to music!”

“We would question your own sense of ‘taste’,” Ratchet countered dourly. Jack looked like he wanted to agree, but considering he was currently sitting next to Miko? He was a wise fleshling and kept quiet.

Some things transcended species lines, no matter how different they were…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a couple of implied scenes (including one implied in this chap), I will be doing as separate addendum fics...maybe part as a drabble fic. Not sure yet....


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Information and doubts

Nemesis

“My Lord.”

Megatron looked over at Dreadwing. The seeker had a stoic expression, but he could see a hint of amusement in his optics. What made his Second so? He inclined his head for him to go ahead.

“Knockout has reported that Airachnid’s lifesign has disappeared from his monitoring equipment,” the seeker reported. “He is uncertain, however, if she had turned off the beacon or is actually…no longer among the living.”

The Warlord frowned: either scenario was likely considering who they were dealing with. “Take a few drones with you and inspect her last known location,” he commanded. “We need confirmation on her fate.”

“Understood my Lord.” Dreadwing bowed before turning and leaving the command center.

Once he was gone, Megatron allowed his own smirk of amusement to grace his face. Deserted or already dead, it did not matter. That traitorous spider bot’s life was already deemed expendable anyway.

“My Lord.”

Megatron had to suppress a jump at the sound of the Dreadwing’s voice being played by Soundwave. He looked toward his CIC, whom looked as stoic and unemotional as always.

“Research complete,” Soundwave announced with a clip of some long dead scientist.

“The term ‘astral’, I expect lead to some results?” Megatron queried, to which Soundwave nodded. On his visor, a map of the planet displayed. Overlaying it was a series of interconnected lines. Soundwave highlighted the spots were many lines intersected.

“So there’s a likely pattern to these ‘astral energy’ concentrations…,” Megatron mused, rubbing his chin. “I want these concentrations verified at once!”

“As you command, Lord Megatron,” Soundwave replied in Starscream’s voice.

Ugh…he hated it when he used that backstabbing seeker’s voice….

\--

Wilderness

The trip back to base wouldn’t take long. At least, not long enough for another nap, since his previous one was so _rudely_ interrupted by Bulkhead. So Skywarp reluctantly agreed to discussing how to break the bad news to Starscream about Yarzon. They both quickly decided it was best to just be straight about it.

“So…we have a more few kliks before we arrive,” Wheeljack stated, pausing a moment in thought before continuing. “I’ve ‘heard’ you were a bit of a prankster during the Golden Age….”

Skywarp smirked beside himself. //#Technically still am!#\\\ he sent. //#Just lack opportunity and targets as of late. Lemme guess: Jetfire told ya?#\\\

The Wrecker chuckled a bit. “Yeah, told me you were banned from his lab because of your antics.”

//#That and he thinks I don’t wash enough,#\\\ He soundlessly scoffed. //#Dirtaphobe! I’m a dark colored bot…I shouldn’t _need_ to wash every day!#\\\

“Well, to be fair, proper hygiene is for more than ensuring you _look_ nice.”

//#Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s for ensuring all our joints and scrap can move properly and such.#\\\ Skywarp sighed. //#Yarzon get’s on my case about it too.#\\\

“So ya don’t care about ensure you’re at optimal performance?”

//#Oh I do, I just think washing every cycle…frag...multiple times a cycle like some bots, is too much! Unless of course I’ve been doing something that gets me especially dirty…like walking around in a marsh.#\\\

Wheeljack was blinking at him with surprise. “I’m surprised _any_ seeker would even _think_ about doin’ such a thin’….”

//#Ah, my bro and I used to go squid hunting in our youth,#\\\ he explained. //#Helped distract us from the poor situation we were in at the time. Took Nightfire out on a hunt once.#\\\ He snickered. //#Mistook a leech for a squid, gave him quite a fright when it snapped at him in retaliation. I’ll never forget the look on his face!#\\\ He sent Wheeljack a photo of said face.

From the chuckles the Wrecker was now emitting, he found it amusing as well, though he quickly became concerned. “You…didn’t have a good early life?” he was asking.

Skywarp took in a deep intake. //#Seeing we are about to arrive, I’ll just say this for now: the deck was stacked against us from the moment of our creation.#\\\

Wheeljack looked sad and apologetic at this. “You are a strong bot then to have come this far…,” he stated as he took over the controls for the landing.

_Perhaps not strong enough_. Sure he has survived against the odds, but only due to the inference of others. How strong is someone really if they keep relying on others to fix problems for them?

One big example being that he had the perfect abilities to assassinate Megatron many times over. Yet he never could bring himself to raise his blade against him….

\--

Autobot Base

It was a bit of a surprise to everyone when they saw Skywarp had decided to return with Wheeljack. From the look on his face, Arcee could tell Starscream was both happy and slightly worried about this. Studying the disfigured seeker herself, she saw how sullen he was. There was clear anxiety and a hint of dread in his remaining optic, like he knew something he didn’t want to reveal.

Before anyone could ask what was wrong, he was spotted by the kids.

“Whoa! Who is that!?” Miko had cried excitedly, hopping from the couch and running up to him. Skywarp, caught off guard and likely a bit wary, disappeared, confusing the tiny human. “Huh…where did he go? Did I just see a ghost?” Miko was scratching her head.

“Nah, Skywarp just cloaked himself, kiddo,” Wheeljack replied. “He’s likely never been this close to a human before.”

“Skywarp?” Raf spoke up, sounding a bit nervous. “Isn’t he the guy that’s been sneaking around the base?”

“Not for malicious reasons, I assure you,” Optimus replied. “Skywarp, it is alright. The children are harmless.”

“With the exception of Miko’s music,” Ratchet countered, Phaseshot nodding in agreement. Both Bulkhead and Miko rolled their optics.

Skywarp reappeared, but on the other side of Wheeljack. He was staring at Miko with a mix of caution and curiosity. “He says ‘Sorry, you approached from my blind side. Startled me.’” Wheeljack stated.

“Wait…you can’t talk?” Jack asked, to which Skywarp shook his head.

“Not even like Bee used to, in Basic?” Raf queried, which resulted in another head shake.

“Skywarp was severely damaged during an encounter with the Quintessons long ago,” Starscream explained, Arcee catching a hint of guilt in his tone. “He was…left for dead then…and but found by Yarzon, an old ally of ours, who fixed him the best he could.”

“Wow that sucks,” Miko sighed. “So…what do you transform into? If you still can…”

]I can,[ Skywarp replied using wing language this time, Starscream translating for the other’s benefit. ]I’m a seeker, like Starscream, but I can’t fly right now.[

“Yeah…I can see why,” Miko commented. “Those pole things don’t look very aerodynamic. Must be hard to get around….”

]Not really. I’ll show you.[

“Wait…Skywarp no!” Starscream yelled instead of translating, but it was too late. Skywarp had picked up Miko in one hand, then teleported to the other side of the room. The tiny human was briefly disoriented, then cheered with excitement.

“Whoa! That was wicked! Do that again!” she was saying.

“Warp, that was incredibly reckless!” Starscream scolded. “You could have killed her!”

Skywarp made a visible scoff. ]You know I can teleport small things with me, Boss,[ he countered.

“But you’ve never teleported an organic before!” Starscream’s voice was nearly screech level, his hands now on top of his head.

“I’m fine, Screamer!” Miko insisted as Skywarp put her down. “This guy is cool! He’s a walking Star Trek reference!”

“Eh!?” Arcee giggled at the look of utter confusion on Starscream’s face. Jack was facepalming and Raf was trying to suppress a laugh. Skywarp was clearly giggling as he walked back to Wheeljack. Whether it was because he understood the reference or was simply reacting to Starscream’s reaction, she couldn’t tell.

“I’m serious!” Miko insisted. “He has Klingon cloaking tech and can teleport!”

“What’s a…nevermind! That’s not the point!” Starscream was covering his face in despair. “Warp…how many times have I told you _not_ to do things on impulse!?” The disfigured seeker simply shrugged, a faint smirk on his face, prompting an exasperated groan from the Air Commander.

“Was impulse the reason you decided to come visit?” Ratchet asked curiously.

Skywarp was shaking his head before he replied, Arcee taking over the translation this time. ]No, the _R’aagun_ was too far away for me to return to at the time. Was easier just to go with Jackie.[

“ _R’aagun_ …,” Starscream muttered. “That means ‘Freedom’ in Quintesson. An appropriate name considering who pilots it. How did you get such a ship?”

]Ah, better for Yarzon to tell that story…though….[ Skywarp became sullen again. ]He’s…[ His ‘wings’ shifted downward as he looked toward Wheeljack, whom sighed.

“We were discussin’ how to break this to ya,” the Wrecker admitted. “But there’s no way to sweeten this news. So I’ll say it straight: Yarzon’s not stickin’ around.”

Everyone stiffened in shock, Starscream most of all. This news had to be like a stab in his spark. “Wh-what…,” he asked. “He found me…and decided that was enough?”

]More like he lost hope…[ Skywarp wing signed, Jetfire now translating for the others. ]He feels you are lost to us for good.[

“What? So he’s just giving up…running away!?” Arcee exclaimed, feeling her temper rise. “After fighting so hard to help us before!?”

]I. I think all that time in exile before he saved me wasn’t good for him,[ Skywarp stated, his gaze down cast.

“Isolation often effects one’s mental health in negative ways…,” Ratchet sighed. “Especially for more social species.”

“And combined with his age…his sense of self-preservation must be very high…,” Starscream muttered. “Then learning what I have…and the likely-hood of curing it….”

“That’s no excuse!” Arcee insisted. “He was a mentor to you, Star! Doesn’t that amount to anything!?”

“Even the most dedicated and protective of parents know they must let their fledglings live on their own eventually,” Phaseshot pointed out. “Though in this case, I believe it is not only due to believing he would not be able to contribute to finding a cure for Starscream’s ailment…but that he has forgotten what drives him in the first place.” The beastformer rubbed his chin a moment. “I may know a way to remind him…but I sense the opportunity to do so is a few days away….”

“Why wait?” Wheeljack asked. “Sky has the ship’s comm frequency….” Skywarp was nodding in confirmation.

“I cannot cast illusions over comms,” Phaseshot stated simply.

Everyone else looked confused, but Starscream seemed to get it. “The Vehilse….” He stated, to which Phaseshot nodded. 

_The who?_ Arcee had never heard of them before. Nor had anyone else if their confused expressions were anything to go by.

“It will become clear in time,” Phaseshot assured them smugly, before looking toward Skywarp. “And what of you? You are his ward. If he intends to leave?”

Skywarp was already shaking his head. ]I’m staying. I’m joining you guys after I do one more supply run for the aft.[

Starscream looked absolutely _elated_ at this news, but that elation was quickly replaced with worry. “Are you sure about that, Sky?” he asked, trembling. “I could end up being….”

]I know the risks, Boss. I will not run away just because something terrible happened. Not like ‘someone’ we know.[ Skywarp was glaring at Jetfire. Arcee had to translate this one, as the larger seeker looked like he was about to argue. Instead, he sighed and looked away in shame.

“Does this mean you’ll actually let me _fix_ you?” Ratchet questioned hopefully.

Skywarp was nodding. ]But not until after Yarzon leaves,[ he stated. ]I’m technically still ‘with’ him. I want to honor that silly squid’s stupid logic of until then.[

Ratchet didn’t look pleased at having to wait: Arcee could only imagine what his medic’s coding was doing to his processor. “Can you at least let me examine you so I know what I will be up against when that time comes?”

Skywarp looked uncertain. After a few nanos, Wheeljack had gently elbowed him. “I don’t see the harm in it, Sky,” the Wrecker stated. “It’s just an examination….” What Skywarp said next must have been privately to Wheeljack, for he said next. “Trust me…Doc already knows about that. He’ll throw a fit, for sure, but he can’t do anythin’ without your consent.”

Ratchet had folded his arms and was glaring at them both. “There _is_ such a thing as ‘involuntary hospitalization’…,” he warned.

]I can teleport,[ Skywarp countered, glaring right back.

“Can’t teleport if you are in stasis….”

“Doc…you are not helpin’!” Wheeljack groaned, rubbing his face. “If ya want forewarnin’ on what ya need to fix later on, you need to honor his wishes!”

“Wheeljack has a point, old friend,” Optimus agreed.

“Fine…,” Ratchet sighed dramatically before patting the berth. “Hop on, Skywarp. I’ll do a full examination and give you a copy of the results for you to give to Yarzon. Perhaps he’ll do some of the fixing himself before he takes off….”

]Maybe.[ Skywarp seemed doubtful as he climbed onto the berth.

“In the meantime, we can discuss the latest information we have uncovered on bond-rage,” Optimus announced. “And the measures we need to take to counter it….”

\--

R’aagun

Was he doing the right thing?

That question had been plaguing Yarzon’s mind ever sense he told Skywarp they were going to leave…and Skywarp countered by stating he will stay. In truth, he should have expected that response. Should have known Skywarp would refuse to abandon his last ‘brother’. It had left his night’s fitful and restless, like it was again tonight. He could tell Skywarp was having trouble as well, from how weary he had been looking the couple of times he managed catch sight of him.

They hadn’t said much to each other since that day. What was there to say? Skywarp was set in his decision and the Quintesson had discovered long ago that once he had his mind set on something, it was hard to change it. Yarzon couldn’t fault him for that: he hadn’t been blind to the seeker’s growing frustration with him. Skywarp had wanted to play a more active role ever since they found the _Nemesis’_ location.

Which he couldn’t allow! Mostly due to Skywarp’s condition, which was still rather poor despite his best efforts. The other was simply due to how ‘outclassed’ his ship was compared to the _Nemesis_. That, on top of Cybertronian hatred of his species, would lead to a quick demise if their cover was blown. Best case in that situation was getting blown to pieces. Worse case…Megatron captured his ship and used its tech for his murderous ways.

The Autobot’s he hadn’t considered as much of a threat, mostly due to their largely ‘grounded’ status. That did change somewhat as more members joined him. Wheeljack with his _Jackhammer_ , Jetfire, that odd looking Phaseshot and now, of course, Starscream.

Starscream…Nightfire…Yarzon had hoped he had lived a peaceful life. According to Skywarp, he did for the most part…until the war started. Oh, how poor Nightfire had suffered once more…only this time by his own kin. This time…he couldn’t help him. What was done to him was beyond his knowledge and capabilities. He would only be a hinderance…and a target.

Yarzon had hoped Skywarp would have understood that. Logic was never that seeker’s strong suit, however. That Nightfire may be hurt by his decision to, as Skywarp put it, abandon him did give him pause, Yarzon still felt Nightfire would ultimately see the logic in it. Perhaps he will even decide to join him when he retreated to the stars?

The Quintesson sighed, mentally shaking his head as he rose from his sleeping stand, giving up on sleep. Nightfire…Starscream…made his choice to live among Cybertronians back then and he doubted he would change his mind now. Starscream would want revenge against those that had wronged him, like before, and he can’t do that if he ran away with him. Yarzon had to accept that he will be alone, like he had been for much of his long life.

His tentacles drooping from depression and exhaustion, he left his room and started for the bridge. He stopped by Skywarp’s room on the way to see if the seeker had returned. When he peeked into his room, he quickly determined the seeker had not. Disappointed, but not surprised, he flipped on the light and went in. 

The room was a mess like it usually was. Taking up most of the space were the various panels Skywarp had sketched on. In one corner was the toolbox Skywarp kept all his metal etching tools in. It had taken him orns to get the seeker in the habit of putting them away when he was done. Yarzon chuckled lightly at the memory, recalling the ‘debates’ over that. The Quintesson only ‘won’ in the end when Skywarp stepped on one of the tools one day and needed his help to pull it out again…and repair the damage.

Absently, Yarzon started looking at the panels: many were complete, but just as many were in various stages of completion. Most depicted old memories and events from his life. Quite a few were of Starscream and his brother, Thundercracker. There were a few ‘photo’ group shots. One of those had him, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Airfix and Nightfire in it: he wondered if Skywarp would let him keep this one. Another was an ‘Air command squad’ group picture: everyone looked so tall and proud. The rest of the ‘group shots’ had Skywarp in it with various other bots he didn’t recognize.

There were a few of a certain bot: one the seeker both feared and hated. In these though, Skywarp had depicted said bot in decidedly not…nice…ways. In one he had him being drawn and quartered by a squad of seekers. In another it looked like he was in the process of being slowly lowered in a smelting pit. Yet another it looked like he was being put through a metal shredder.

By Quintessia…he never knew Skywarp could have such malicious thoughts! Yarzon supposed this was being used as part of therapy to help himself get over what had been done to him by this individual. Still, it was a reminder that Skywarp could be dangerous if he really wanted to be.

Thankfully, his more recent projects were not nearly so violent. Most were practice sketches of Wheeljack, but his current project was a full body portrait of said Autobot. Yarzon could tell Skywarp was putting a lot of effort and detail into it. Why the seeker decided to depict the Wrecker, he didn’t know. Considering it appeared to be only half complete, Yarzon doubted he’ll finish it before he left.

Letting out a forlorn sigh, he left Skywarp’s room, realizing how much he was going to miss the seeker. Not for his ability to give intelligent conversation, no, that was asking for too much. But for…his lively personality. Even if it did drive him up the walls more often than not.

He continued on to the bridge, pausing briefly in the medbay. Skywarp had spent so much time in here, not by choice of course. The restoration process was long and arduous…and still incomplete. He glanced over to a locked crate, tucked away in the corner. It contained something very important to Skywarp, one the seeker wasn’t aware he was working on. He hadn’t liked keeping it from him, but he hadn’t wanted to get his hopes up. The Quintesson intended to give the crate to Skywarp after the supply run. Whether they were up to Ratchet’s ‘standards’…well, he’ll likely never find out. All he could hope for is that they shorten time needed to finish restoring the seeker.

Yarzon sighed as he continued on, realizing he will likely need to repurpose much of this space for something else. _He_ didn’t need such a large medbay, no, this had been all for Skywarp’s benefit. Yet it felt like it would be wrong to do so: so many memories there. At last, he reached the bridge and he immediately noticed Skywarp had sent a location request.

_Hmm…the ship must have drifted too far away from him._ But why not just have Wheeljack fly him closer like the first time? Did something come up? His spark fluttering with worry, he checked the seeker’s current location: he was in the Autobot base.

He frowned, but then shook his head, realizing it made sense. Skywarp would need someplace to go after he left, and the Autobots were the _safest_ for him. Likely getting fixed up by Ratchet, which, despite his reservations, would be a good thing. He would feel less guilty about sending him out to get supplies one last time.

With the knowledge that his ward was in safe hands, Yarzon turned to return to his room. There was still a lingering doubt though. Was he doing the right thing by leaving?

_It’s not my war…not my fight…not my place…to get involved._ That was what he kept telling himself ever since Skywarp told him what happened since he had left.

But no matter how many times he told himself that, that doubt remained….


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Examination

Autobot Base

Skywarp was a dream patient, much to Ratchet’s surprise. Not in terms of his physical condition, but in how compliant he was. The seeker only moved when prompted and didn’t distract him with needless chatter. Jetfire had remarked that this was unusual, as typically Skywarp was nearly as fidgety as Starscream. Skywarp explained that he had ‘taught’ himself to stay still under Yarzon’s care, due to tentacles and drone arms each having their own limitations for doing repair work.

_‘I’m messed up as is…don’t want to get messed up more due to doing something stupid on the exam table.’_ the seeker had remarked.

Messed up was an apt phrase. The list of repairs needed was already quite long and he was only half done with the examination. Yet surprisingly, structure wise he was fairly solid, only some minor repairs here and there were needed. Perhaps not so surprising, as Yarzon was a drone specialist and would quickly recognize structural problems. However, the more he examined structures and systems that were not typical in drones, the more flaws and damage he saw.

That fuel pump, for instance…was a mess. It looked like it was barely holding together. What was the phrase he heard Fowler use once? Oh yes: ‘kept together with nothing but duct tape and chewing gum’. No wonder the seeker suffered from the occasional pump attack.

That said, the more he looked, the louder his medic’s coding _screamed_ at him to keep this bot in the medbay. Screaming that this bot was barely fit for even light duty! But he was told examination only…and he had to honor that. So, in a way, the discussion going on about Starscream was a _welcome_ distraction….

A discussion that kept getting derailed by the humans, unfortunately. Ratchet partly wished they hadn’t explained what bond-rage was to them beforehand, as it would have kept their questions more relevant. Wait…no…that conversation turned into something rather awkward and, in Ratchet’s option, disgusting.

He didn’t want to think about how it would have gone if Skywarp and Wheeljack had been present then. Neither of them were of ‘mature’ mindsets in his opinion. Primus, he could already tell Skywarp and Miko will get along very well.

As proven by the fac that it was Miko that kept derailing the conversation by asking Skywarp questions. Ratchet supposed there were worse things to be curious about, but the problem was that since the seeker couldn’t communicate normally, someone else had to ‘speak’ for him to answer Miko’s questions. Which meant they had to get involved as well.

At one point she asked him where he got his cloaking device and teleporter, the latter leading to the others needing to explain to all the kids about sigmas. “So…most of you don’t have cool powers then?” Miko was commenting, looking disappointed.

“Sigmas occur in only roughly one percent of the population,” Ratchet replied gruffly. “So no.”

“So like superheroes then: rare but kick ass!”

“Uh…sure….” Whatever _those_ are….

“Unfortunately, bots with sigmas were more often than not were treated with suspicion,” Arcee commented grimly. “If not discriminated against outright.”

“Skywarp was tossed to the streets as a sparkling when his teleportation sigma manifested, for instance…,” Starscream revealed, to which Skywarp nodded in confirmation.

“Aw, that’s horrible!” Miko cried, making a pouty face.

“So…even an advanced society like yours have those that discriminate against those that are different,” Jack sighed.

“We were no utopia, I can tell you that,” Ratchet grumbled. “Our current war is, essentially, due to such discrimination.”

At this Starscream scoffed. “Which Megatron turned into a massive enegron spilling power play,” he growled. “If he even _believed_ in stopping the oppression in the first place.”

“I believe…at the very beginning he may have,” Optimus stated quietly. “But the past is not in discussion here….”

And so the conversation returned to bond-rage and how to deal with it. It lasted exactly two kliks before Miko had another non-relevant question.

“So you can’t make any sound at all, Warpers?” she asked, to which Skywarp shook his head. “You can’t even whistle?” Skywarp tilted his head in apparent confusion, then his optic seemed to light up in realization.

What followed for the next klik or so was Skywarp trying to whistle. Ratchet wound up getting sprayed with oral lubricant a couple of times during a couple of particularly bad attempts. Then he nearly got an audio blown up when the seeker finally succeeded.

“Skywarp!” Ratchet growled, rubbing said audio.

Skywarp wasn’t fazed by his scolding though, as he was obviously so happy to finally hear a noise from his own mouth. Miko cheered him on as he kept ‘practicing’ his newfound ability, much to the medic’s annoyance. Even more annoying was that the seeker started bobbing about with his ‘tune’, which forced him to growl at him to ‘stay still’.

The cheeky seeker stuck out his glossa in response but did as ‘commanded’. He stopped whistling as well, much to Ratchet’s relief. He couldn’t help but notice a few ‘amused’ expressions from the others, particularly Wheeljack and Jetfire. Regardless, the proper topic of conversation returned.

“So if this is caused by the breaking of a bond,” Raf then asked, looking thoughtful. “Wouldn’t making a new one stop it?”

Finally! A sensible question from one of them!

“Possible in theory,” Ratchet admitted as he had Skywarp turn around so he could inspect the hydraulic systems for his wings. “However, as previously explained, those in such a state are too busy attacking any living thing to ‘consent’ to such a thing.”

“There’s also the issue that, in Starscream’s case, his spark isn’t _whole_ ,” Jetfire pointed out. “A new bond won’t likely even _take_.” Ratchet nodded in agreement.

“So…his spark needs to be in one piece for that to work…but to do that would mean he’d be more interested in killing everyone,” Jack reiterated. “Wow…that’s…a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation….” The dark haired human was rubbing the back of his neck, sighing.

“Ain’t that the truth…,” Starscream sighed, his shoulders and wings slumping.

“Hence why we are considering all possible ideas for countering the eventually Megatron will…’return’ the rest of his spark,” Optimus stated grimly.

“What about prevention?” Raf was asking. “Is there a way to keep his missing spark from…merging with the rest of it?”

“We did once use something called a spark shield,” Jetfire replied. “But those were designed to prevent two different _whole_ sparks from melding. No guarantee it would work in this situation.”

“Not to mention they can be very painful to both install and remove…,” Ratchet added. He noticed Starscream shudder, no doubt recalling when he had his own removed.

“What about finding the missing spark and hiding it from old Megadolt?” Miko asked, actually _contributing_ to the topic of discussion for once! “Can’t use it if he doesn’t _have_ it!”

“Sky did come up with that very idea. Offered to take a look around the _Nemesis_ once he was fixed up, actually,” Wheeljack informed them, Skywarp nodding in confirmation.

“While I appreciate the thought, Sky,” Starscream began. “We do not know where or _how_ Megatron keeps it. For all we know, the very act of opening it’s hiding place could release it.”

Ratchet felt a shudder in Skywarp’s frame as he started examining his head, having found his wing hydraulics in decent shape. He suspected the seeker needing to use his wings to ‘talk’ were at least part of the reason for that.

“Still, the possibility of retrieving the spark piece for safe keeping is not something we should ignore,” Optimus was saying, before looking at Starscream. “Is there anyone on the ship aside from Megatron that may know of its location?”

Starscream was sighing, deep in thought with his arms folded across his chest for a klik or two before he replied. “I don’t think so,” he replied, his tone one of regret. “Knockout knew my spark was split into two, but it was implied he didn’t know _why_ …let alone where it may be. Of course, there’s a chance Soundwave may know…but getting anything out of that loyalist aft kisser?” He raised his hands and shrugged.

“Warp said that he and Thundercracker obviously didn’t even know about it,” Wheeljack announced. “My guess is…Megatron kept this from everyone. Though I would have thought he would have used the knowledge as a means to keep everyone in line….”

“Megatron is smart enough to know a bond-rager cannot be controlled,” Starscream growled. “Shockwave had to pull off a miracle to ‘turn it off’ in the first place….”

“With no guarantee he can do it again,” Ratchet remarked, writing down more notes. “Question, Skywarp: the optic that is in your right socket, is that your original?”

Skywarp shook his head, then started wingsigning, Jetfire translating. ]It’s TC’s. Yarzon was able to recover some of him before we had to leave that planet,[ he explained, a sorrowful expression on his face. ]I…gave him permission to use what he recovered to help repair me. He could never get the optic to work though….[

Rather morbid, Ratchet had to admit, but considering the circumstances he didn’t blame him. “From my examination the optic is fully functional, the problem looks to be a minor calibration issue.”

]That’s our guess as well.[

“Well…perhaps my notes will steer him in the right direction,” Ratchet muttered as he typed the last of his notes in the datapad. “If he wishes to even bother trying before he departs. Do you know when he intends to leave?”

Skywarp was silent for a moment. ]He wanted to leave after the next supply run,[ he replied. ]Which…if we keep to the pattern…is in three earth cycles…tops. He wants me to get three times as much this time[

“Wait…you had a regular schedule for this?” Starscream remarked. When Skywarp nodded in confirmation, his optics started making slight movements back and forth, his jaw clenched for a moment before he declared. “Oh Primus…Sky…you need to hold it off!”

]Huh? Why?[

“Because before I left, I’ve been reporting about those thefts for _orns!_ ” the Air Commander told him. “Megatron at the time didn’t consider the losses serious enough to warrant action…but that may have changed since I’ve defected! Such a regular schedule will surely be noticed, meaning they will know when you’ll strike next!”

Skywarp’s ‘wings’ shot down as he mouthed ‘oh scrap’. ]I…I don’t know if I can change when it happens,[ he stated, looking a bit panicked. ]I know we should be getting low by now…and we often cut it close as is….[

“And we don’t exactly have the resources to spare to _extend_ that time,” Ratchet grumbled.

]He likely wouldn’t accept any ‘hand-outs’ to begin with…stubborn aft.[ Skywarp folded his arms in a huff.

“We may have no choice but to provide a distraction when the time comes,” Optimus sighed. “Do you know what mines he plans to have you hit?”

]I’m not told until the day of, unfortunately,[ Skywarp replied. ]I know he always has several mines under surveillance…and chooses the one that will the least dangerous for me.[

“That doesn’t mean Megatron will not come up with other ways to expose or stop you,” Starscream growled. “Can you warn him of the danger?”

Skywarp visibly sighed. ]I can,[ he replied. ]But, being a paranoid squid? He may react badly.[

“That’s a good point…,” Starscream grumbled. “There’s a chance he may panic and either leave without proper supplies, or have you raid a mine blind. Can you find out which mines he may choose from?” A nod. “Then I suggest we go with the Prime’s idea of doing a distraction: performing a raid of our own.”

]But, Boss…wouldn’t that put me at greater risk if you guys are shooting things up at the same mine as me?[

“We’ll raid a different mine, silly,” Starscream corrected him. “But we’ll need to know which one you’ll hit as soon as you know it.”

“I would also suggest one of us be at his mine as backup, incase Buckethead does pull a trap of some kind on him,” Wheeljack suggested. “I can volunteer for that. I’ve already cased out and poked at a few mines solo, so they wouldn’t consider that ‘out of character’, if you get my meanin’.”

Skywarp started stretching with a faint smile on his face, his ‘wings’ signing as he did so. Did he just wiggle his aft? Then Ratchet heard a groan and ‘Skywarp’ from Starscream. Looking his way, he saw the Air Commander had an exasperated expression, on hand on his face. Skywarp had a shy smirk and a blush on his face, like he knew he said something he shouldn’t have.

“OK…what did he say?” Ratchet asked, looking around at the other bots he knew understood that language. Jetfire had an amused smirk on his face and Arcee was covering her mouth in apparent shock, then started giggling. He looked at Wheeljack.

The Wrecker looked…stunned. Was that a hint of a blush on his face?

Ratchet was now _very_ curious on what Skywarp said. From the body language he had displayed, the medic was starting to get a good idea….

“He…basically said he didn’t oppose the idea of Wheeljack watching him,” Jetfire finally revealed, snickering.

Wheeljack’s hint of a blush was now a proper one….

\--

Nemesis

In his line of work Knockout was used to seeing grievous injuries and dead corpses in various states of decay. After all, a strong constitution was a requirement for this job. This though…was pushing it.

Airachnid’s corpse, or what was left of it, was on the slab. Her limbs were shredded or simply torn off. Torso practically hollowed out, with only a few broken pieces of an organ or two left: a few recovered organs were on a separate table, but by no means all of them. Spark chamber? Its protective covering was ripped off so violently that large chunks of the chamber itself was missing. The only part of her that was intact was the head.

Knockout had quickly concluded she only died when her spark itself was ripped out: too resilient for her own good. Whether or not she was _conscious_ by that point…there was no way of telling. As for who or what did this…that was obvious: Starscream’s claws left distinctive marks.

On what triggered him this time? He had little clue. There was evidence of a second bot being present according to Dreadwing’s report. From the pictures the seeker took of the scene, Knockout concluded the other bot was most likely Arcee. The placement of some of the webbing was too low and small for it to be any other bot.

“Well?” The voice of Megatron caused him to jump. After shoving his spark back into it’s chamber where it belonged he looked over at the Warlord, whom was looking at him expectantly with folded arms.

He wondered why he was even asking: Megatron received a copy of Dreadwing’s report. “Starscream in bondrage,” Knockout replied simply, if only to indulge him. “As far as I can tell, she was the only victim, as all the…pieces…that were recovered belonged to her. Now, as for what triggered him this time, I have no idea. Unless Arcee knows the same tricks as that Phaseshot fellow….”

“Arcee?” Megatron seemed slightly surprised, then went into deep thought for a moment. After a klik, he started chuckling. “Ah…I see….”

“Mind sharing? Or is that knowledge above my pay grade?” Knockout asked, though a part of him didn’t want to know.

There was an amused smirk on the Warlord’s face. “Arcee bears some resemblance to my former Second-in-Commands deceased bondmate,” he explained. “And the situation they wound up in apparently mimicked a particular event…the very one that started it.”

Knockout mouthed an ‘oh’ as he understood what he was talking about. Talk about extreme bad luck on Airachnid’s part! Not that he was going to miss the creepy and cruel bot.

“However.” Megatron’s expression turned deathly serious. “We must take care in how we deal with Arcee from this point on, especially if Starscream is also present.”

The medic felt his energon chill. “You think so much as harming her may trigger an episode?” he asked.

“The possibility is there,” Megatron stated grimly. “And as you witnessed yourself…he will ruthlessly go after the one that triggered it. It may be prudent to capture Arcee along with him to ensure there are no ‘mishaps’ on the battlefield.”

“Why not just keep him locked up…or even in stasis!?” Knockout demanded. “It’s clear he is far too dangerous to allow to remain free!”

“Because, for all his scheming and attempts to overthrow me, he still has some use to me.” Megatron turned and started to walk away. “Aside as a weapon of last resort….”

His energon wasn’t just chilled it was _ice_ now.

_Oh Primus…._

The implication was clear: Megatron had the missing piece of Starscream’s spark somewhere. Likely within easy reach. If sparks were capable of being subspaced, he’d assume the Warlord had it on his person. However, that doesn’t mean Megatron didn’t have a way to release it otherwise. Like a deadbot’s switch? Though Knockout never noticed such a thing during the many examinations he had done.

Still…that Megatron was willing to unleash such an unstoppable weapon as a ‘last resort’….

_“You’ve seen what he has done both to me and our world! Do you really want to live under someone like him!?”_ Starscream’s words from that day came back to him.

_No…no I don’t…._ Knockout breathed a forlorn sigh. _But where could I go?_

If a fully intact Starscream was unleashed…nowhere would be safe….

\--

Autobot Base

“So…what did he _actually_ say?” Bulkhead was asking.

Wheeljack glanced at him and saw the amused smirk on his face. He sighed, shook his head and turned his focus back onto the project he was working on. Ratchet had _insisted_ that he build the restraint devices rather than leave it to him. Fair enough. The medic had enough projects on his plate and working on this helped the Wrecker keep his processor off certain things.

Or would, if a certain _other_ Wrecker didn’t bring those things up.

“It doesn’t matter what he _actually_ said, only that he agreed with my suggestion,” Wheeljack stated absently.

_‘Well I certainly don’t mind a handsome bot like you watching my aft_ ’ was what Skywarp actually said. He wasn’t about to admit it though, as he knew Bulkhead would never let it go if he did. The implications were too strong: Bulkhead had been trying to get him to move on over Ebonscream for millennia. He wasn’t ready, doubted he ever will be. 

Without consciously meaning to, he looked toward Skywarp, who had decided to stay the night. In part because he couldn’t leave as, according to him, the _R’aagun_ was too far away. Optimus had offered to ground bridge him closer, but he declined. Ratchet looked surprisingly relieved by this, but that was likely due to his medic coding. The final ‘results’ of the exam were bad, and he could tell Ratchet was very much against letting Skywarp out of the base at all in his condition. Not that Wheeljack could blame him: he didn’t like the idea of the seeker running around like that either.

Currently, Skywarp was spending time with the kids, who were helping him figure out ways to communicate with them. The datapad thing he used before worked well, but then _Raf_ of all people wondered if he could mimic Basic by whistling. Wheeljack was able to tune out the ‘practice’, but from the look on Ratchet’s face? The medic was not able to. 

He had to chuckle at that. Skywarp was type of bot that could easily get under others plating if he wanted. Wheeljack liked that about him. He wondered what would happen if he and Ultra Magnus ever met? The Wrecker chuckled harder at the thought of Skywarp causing that stick in the aft Commander an aneurism from his antics.

“Sure it does!” Bulkhead was countering, snapping his attention back to what he was _trying_ not to think about. “Especially considering how I found you two earlier….”

“Bulk…,” Wheeljack sneered defensively. “Nothin’ was meant by that.”

“You sure about that?” Bulkhead was grinning, one brow raised suggestively.

“Bulk…” His voice was a full growl this time. He didn’t want to deal with this right now, if ever.

At this, Bulkhead let out a heavy sigh. “Come on, Jackie. It’s been…forever since you’ve-“

“Drop it!” Wheeljack snapped, not wanting to get into this kind of _discussion_ right now, especially in front of everyone else.

Too loud. Everyone had stopped what they were doing and were now looking at him. Bulkhead had backed off, hands up in surrender, an apologetic expression on his face. Wheeljack looked away, planting his palms on the table as he vented a shuddering sigh. Total silence reigned for about a half-klik before he heard a ping in his HUD. It was a message from Skywarp.

//#Are you alright?#\\\ it read, as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up he saw the seeker looking down at him, his expression one of concern.

“I….” For a moment he wasn’t sure what to say. He could only stare at that dark, soft and kind looking face, his optics tracing out every feature. After what felt like an eternity, he forced himself to look away.

“I’m fine…Warp,” he managed softly, as he lightly touched the seeker’s hand before gently brushing it off his shoulder. “I just…have a lot of things on my processor….”

“Don’t we all…,” Ratchet grumbled in agreement.

“I’m…not able to focus right now, gonna go recharge for a few breems,” Wheeljack announced, pushing away from the table. He started walking toward his room without waiting for acknowledgement. All the while, the phrase ‘a handsome bot like you’ kept playing in his head.

_No…I can’t…I won’t…fall in love again._

He can’t handle the pain of that kind of loss anymore….


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Immortality

It was not a quiet time at the base. Miko had brought her ‘music’ today and thus the command center was practically vibrating because of it. Yet Starscream couldn’t bring himself to be annoyed, for dancing along with the music was Skywarp.

Seeing Skywarp still desiring to have fun despite his condition brought a smile to his face. Ratchet fretting over him ‘overexerting’ himself made him smirk with amusement. Not that he wasn’t, himself, worried about that, but unlike Ratchet, Starscream could tell Skywarp was aware of his limits. Miko appeared to be as well, as she was keeping the music ‘sessions’ short and the breaks long so the seeker could rest in-between.

That didn’t mean the breaks were ‘quiet’ by any means. No, Skywarp used that time to practice ‘whistled Basic’, usually with Bumblebee, but Wheeljack helped out as well. So far he was able to ‘whistle’ up to two word phrases. Jetfire had privately admitted to him that he doubted the seeker would be able to achieve more than that, due to his problems focusing. Starscream wasn’t going to make any bets on that.

Aside from being a ‘killer of silence’ as Ratchet put it, Skywarp was generally getting along with everyone. Well, he did nearly drive some bots up the wall when he kept getting into their personal space, looking at what they were doing. He didn’t do this with Jetfire or himself, which clued Starscream in on what the seeker was _really_ doing.

It was all a test to see how far Skywarp could push them. To see who would be best to prank. Phaseshot apparently already ‘divined’ what he was up to and threatened to magically turn his paintjob orange if he tried anything. Hmm…similar in personally to Optimus, but definitely with less patience. Optimus just stopped what he was doing until Skywarp moved on. 

Ratchet, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He griped and complained about the seeker’s lack of common courtesy. Starscream predicted a lot of pranks his way in the future, unless Jetfire intervened. Seeing how close those two had become, that was quite likely: he was glad Jetfire appeared to finally find someone.

As for Skywarp, well, it was clearer to him now that he was quite fond of Wheeljack. The Wrecker showed some signs of interest in return, but worryingly, he appeared to be resisting it. Why? Did he have some bad past relationships of his own? It wasn’t his business, but he wondered if he should talk to Wheeljack about it at some point. 

“Feeling better?” Arcee’s voice broke through his thoughts, startling him.

“Ah! Yes…yes I am, thank you,” Starscream replied, looking down at her with a smile. “I feared I wouldn’t be able to use my arms again after that last test…but Ratchet is a miracle worker.” He flexed his arms to prove it. 

“Better believe it,” Ratchet boosted.

They had been testing restraint devices on him while in mini-rage. Phaseshot, due to sigma, was the one that did the ‘triggering’: being able to let anything pass through him definitely made him the safest bot to use as ‘bait’. Wheeljack had made a few different devices…most, however he apparently broke out of easily. The last one, while it succeeded in restraining him, it nearly crushed his arms into uselessness in the process.

“Careful Doc,” Miko quipped. “I don’t think there’s enough room in the base for both you and Screamer’s egos!”

“I beg your pardon!?” both he and Ratchet said in unison, sending a few bots into giggle fits, including Arcee. Her giggles quickly faded, however.

“I’m worried that we may not be able to construct a device capable of restraining you without…destroying your frame in the process,” she stated quietly.

Starscream sighed, sharing a similar concern; one he knew other’s shared as well. The strength he exhibited while in rage-mode far exceeded what a seeker frame of his type should be capable of. There was worry he could be even stronger than that when in _true_ bond-rage. It made creating a restraint with those factors in mind rather difficult. A very delicate balance.

_But even if they do succeed in restraining me, what then? Is there truly a way to cure it?_ Having an immortal spark was an advantage there, yet…if they ever did, how much time would have passed? How many friends and family would be dead and gone when he was ‘snapped out of it’? The thought of not having the chance to spend all of Arcee’s vorns with her was depressing.

He glanced around the command center, looking at each Autobot in turn. _I’ll outlive all of them…even the Prime._ Well, with the likely exception of Phaseshot, but from what Starscream understood of his ‘species’, even he will eventually have to move on to a new form.

“Alright…what’s on your processor?” Arcee queried as he felt a playful punch on his arm. “I’m starting to see sparks…”

He breathed out a long sigh. “Right now, immortality and what it means for me,” he stated. “A…condition…many wish for...but knowing I _have_ it, it feels more like a curse. I am doomed to watch everyone and thing I hold dear wither, age, and die, while I stay the same. I’ll continue to live until the end of time itself. And that’s not even taking into _consideration_ that bond-rage scrap.”

“Immortality…does not always mean what many mortals think it does,” Phaseshot commented, approaching him. “There are different _types_ of immortality, each with its own limitations and downsides.”

“Really?” Ratchet spoke up, looking interested, as did a few others. “So it’s not as simple as just living forever?”

The former dragon shook his head. “First there is what we call ‘ageless immortality’, where the effects of age have no hold over you, but you can still perish from outside forces.”

“Ooooh, so a bit like the Highlander?” Miko quipped. “Can only die if another immortal lops his head off…there can only be one!”

_Primus…not with the human TV show references again…._ Starscream groaned, along with a few others.

“No,” Phaseshot corrected. “The ‘outside force’ that does the deed does not have to be another immortal.”

“Well that stinks….” Miko griped.

“Ahem…Considering what I remember from my suicide attempt, that doesn’t sound like me,” Starscream remarked before Miko could comment further. “At the very least, directly stabbing my spark has no effect….”

“That sounds more like ‘indestructible immortality’,” Phaseshot commented. “The, functionally, opposite of ‘ageless’. External forces have no effect of you…but time, age, will eventually claim you.”

“Well that sound smore like it!” Miko cut in. “Save for the still growing old bit….”

“That does sound closer, but what we know about bondrage complicates things,” Ratchet muttered. “What knowledge we have on it suggests that being in it eats up what’s left of our natural lifespan, hence why no _normal_ case lived longer than two cycles once it hits.”

“Unless the state of bondrage is considered an ‘external force’,” Phaseshot offered, to which Ratchet shrugged.

“You clearly understand this immortality stuff more than me,” the medic remarked.

Phaseshot shrugged at that himself. “Then there is, of course, ‘godly’, which is exactly what it sounds like. From what I understand, only one such immortal can exist in any given universe.”

“So you don’t count yourself as one?” Arcee queried.

Phaseshot was shaking his head. “Nay, as you already know, Arcee…my body can die,” he countered. “A ‘Godly’ immortal could not be killed in any way, by time or by another’s hand, unless they themselves wished it. But if they wished to die…all other life would perish along with it…for their life is what enables other lives to exist.”

“Much like how we speculate all our sparks are really a part of Primus himself,” Jetfire mused. “If Primus ‘dies’…we will cease to exist….”

_And likely the only way I will ‘die’…._ Not a comforting thought.

“So what _would_ you be considered as?” Arcee asked.

Phaseshot took a moment to respond this time. “Soul Immortal,” he replied. “Moral souls, while some experience multiple lives, tend to dissipate into the All upon their bodies death, for pieces of them to be used to create new ones later. My kind, we remain whole until we become experienced, powerful, enough to transcend and become fully one with the All itself.”

“What do you mean by ‘remaining whole’?” Starscream asked.

“Whole as in we remember everything, no matter how many lives we live,” was the response. “We are always the same individual, only our form is different.”

“Fascinating,” Ratchet was admitting.

“So the first two don’t fit…,” Starscream sighed. “Neither does ‘Soul’ as I can’t die. I doubt I’m ‘godly’ as…how could I be a source of life when I’ve taken so many?”

Phaseshot was looking at him oddly, a flicker of concern crossing his face. “There is…one more type I am aware of you could be,” he announced. After a bit of hesitation, he said. “Vampyric.”

Starscream shuddered at just the sound of it, a for other’s doing the same. “Let me guess...it’s one where you extend your life by stealing the lifespan of another?” A nod. “I don’t like the implications of that. Our kind live for millions of years as is....” He remembered how his hand felt after killing Silverdive: cold and numb. He couldn’t remember if he felt it again all the other times, however. Not even with Airachnid: he was too horrified to notice if his hand felt the same way or not at that moment. 

“Does it have to be the same species?” he asked, remembering all the Quintesson lives he took.

“A life is a life…,” Phaseshot replied grimly.

“Scrap…so all those Quintessons…whom have similar life spans…and all the Cyberonian ones….”

“If so, he may have just killed enough to the point were being in bondrage for so long is not an issue…,” Ratchet stated, looking horrified.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Jetfire countered. “We do not know if Shockwave’s ‘measures’ turned off the ‘lifespan’ eating part of bondrage along with the ‘rage’. We know the rate it eats a lifespan is incredibly quick and with how long it’s been since he first ‘entered’ the state….”

A good point. Chances are he wasn’t ‘that’ type either with that in mind....

“Considering the circumstances of his creation, it is also possible he is a new type,” Phaseshot offered. “Or one I have yet to learn about. I am still ‘young’ by my kinds standards, so there is still much for me to learn.”

They just didn’t have enough information…again. Starscream sighed with exasperation. “I suppose in the end it doesn’t matter type of immortal I am…just that I am,” he grumbled, before he looked up at Phaseshot. “How…how do being such as yourself cope, knowing all your friends, family and other loved ones will perish long before you do?”

The beastformer took a while to reply, the brief pain on his face implying he hadn’t fully learned to cope with it himself. “It helps…to enjoy every precious moment we have with them,” he answered softly. “Then to treasure those memories after. Their lives may be finite, but the memories we have of them can be everlasting.”

Starscream looked down at Arcee, then took her hand into his own. Skywarp was making a goofy ‘ooooh’ face, to which he ignored.

_Then…I shall make very moment count…._

\--

Nemesis

“My Lord,” Dreadwing was announcing. “My preparations are complete.”

It took a couple of nanos for Megatron to recall what the Air Commander was talking about. With acquisition of that ‘astral’ energy so close, he had almost forgotten he had tasked the seeker with handling their ‘thief’ problem. “The thief’s next run should be soon, correct?”

“A couple of Earth cycles, at most,” Dreadwing replied with a smirk. “I have determined the mines the thief will most likely hit and have distributed tracking devices to them. The drones have been instructed to place them on random full crates and to…act causal, even if they notice crates going missing.”

The Warlord frowned, seeing a possible flaw in the plan. “The thief may get suspicious if the drones do not react normally,” he cautioned.

“While that is true, my Lord,” Dreadwing countered. “It would not do if they react before the thief takes a crate with a tracking device: I was not able to make enough devices to cover hundreds of crates..”

“A point,” Megatron conceded. “Perhaps we should redesign our supply crates so they all have some form of tracking device in the future.” An idea for later. “Remember, Dreadwing, if the thief is Skywarp, no matter how unlikely….”

“He is to be brought in alive,” Dreadwing finished. “And if the thief is _not_ Skywarp?”

“Do to them as you wish,” Megatron stated flatly.

Dreadwing smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to say the 'immortality' talk scene was inspired by the YouTube channel 'Because Science', which had an ep on the same subject ('Why you don't want immortality' I think it was called). I am not completely sure anymore though as I actually 'wrote' the scene long before I got to writing this chap....


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Best laid plans....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Legend:
> 
> ~ = telepathy  
> ][ = winglangauge  
> {: :} = whistled Basic  
> // \\\ = Comms  
> //# #\\\ = Texting/email over comm

R’aagun

The last couple of days were good ones. Skywarp had spent most of that time with the Autobots, getting to know them better and this time from _their_ side of the line. Such a stark difference in how things were run!

No yelling, screaming…well, save when Ratchet got riled up: he is so fun to tease! No beatings, threats of torture or being sent to the brig. Just quiet, respective, if sometimes heated, discussions on what was wrong and how to fix it a problem. Everyone’s opinion was considered, even from the little ones. It reminded him of how Winglord Zephyr ran things.

Zephyr…Skywarp remembered the last day of Vos. Recalled how Jetfire informed him of his death, how Starscream didn’t want to leave his greying corpse. Those two…had gotten rather close and there were rumors that Zephyr was grooming Starscream to become his new Second Wing.

That missile destroyed that. Not just the city, but their future. Skywarp felt that if that never happened, Zephyr would taken all of Air Command and officially joined the Autobots. Perhaps…that was why the missile happened, though he had no real proof it was Megatron that ordered it. Only…judgment of character.

Everything he had learned and experienced firsthand under that tyrant was enough for Skywarp to know Megatron was the type to do such a thing. The Prime…judging from the short time he had interacted with him, he couldn’t see him ordering such a thing. Not to say one of his more extreme commanders _wouldn’t_ do it on their own behind his back. That was always a possibility. There were always extremists on both sides…just…the Decepitcons seemed to have lot _more_ of them. Perhaps he was being biased though, considering….

“Skywarp, I’m done,” Yarzon’s voice broke into his thoughts, making him jump slightly. “Try it out.”

Skywarp nodded, closed his optics and rebooted them. The Quintesson had appeared oddly disappointed when he had returned the first time but wouldn’t say why. His optics had also gone comically wide when he had given him the copy of Ratchet’s examination results. Since then, Yarzon had attempted some of the smaller repairs off that list whenever he returned to the ship. This time, it was focused on his right optic.

When the optic reboot was done and he opened them with some hesitation, expecting the same result as the last dozen or so times this was attempted over the eons. There was definitely something different this time, like he was seeing more on his right. Daring to hope, he closed just his left optic and was pleasantly surprised to see that he could still _see_.

]It worked![ he wing signed excitedly, bouncing in his seat. ]I have _depth perception_ again![

“Ratchet’s notes were of great help,” Yarzon remarked quietly, his reaction oddly subdued. “Let me know if you get any processor aches. It’s been a long time since your processor had to handle two visual feeds.”

{:OK:} he whistled in Basic, earning a flinch and a glare from the Quintesson. 

“I still cannot believe you figured out how to do that...,” he grumbled.

{:Humans helped,:} Skywarp replied, then switched to wing language. ]Takes a bit of concentration to get it right, so I won’t likely be able to speak long sentences with it for some time.[ Wheeljack and Jetfire helped as well, much to _certain_ bots annoyance. Skywarp suspected the Wrecker did so just to get under Ratchet’s plating. He like that about Wheeljack: he wasn’t afraid to have a bit of fun!

“Still, I much prefer the _other_ method the humans taught you,” Yarzon remarked as he put away his tools. “Less grating on my audios….”

]Yeah, but human sign language still requires you to _look_ at me,[ Skywarp reminded him. ]Not that it matters, since you are leaving anyway.[

“That…is true…”

Skywarp tilted his head. Yarzon had said that softly and with some hesitation, like he wasn’t so sure about this decision of his anymore. ]You don’t have to leave, ya know,[ he told him. ]The ‘Bots will welcome you…[

“I know…,” Yarzon replied. “But this is not my war…I have no right to get involved.”

He frowned. Was this what this was all about? ]Technically you got involved the moment you saved my aft.[

The Quintesson flinched but said nothing for several long moments. “You’ll be making your supply run in a few Earth breems. If the optic starts giving you trouble before then, let me know and I’ll deactivate it for the run.”

Skywarp nodded, not surprised he would change the subject. ]Which mine?[ Once he got the answer, he sent that information to Wheeljack, knowing the Autobots were already making preparation for their own raid….

\--

_Meanwhile…_

Autobot Base

Starscream studied the map once more. Upon it several points of interest were noted, mostly energon mines, but there were two potential space bridge locations as well. Unfortunately, he hadn’t stuck around long enough to learn which of those spots Megatron ultimately would choose. Of little importance right now: what were more important were the five mining locations that were currently highlighted.

Those were the mines Skywarp had indicated Yarzon was keeping a closer optic on. Starscream was familiar with each of them, of course, but he had no idea on what their status was at present other than being ‘active’. He had run several calculations and scenarios in his processor, attempting to logically determine the state of each one. One he knew should be nearly depleted by now, so drone presence would be lower, but on the other hand, it’s yield would not be enough for Yarzon’s needs.

Unless the Quintesson decided to have Skywarp rob two or more mines.

Starscream groaned and rubbed his head. That possibility had hung over his head ever since he had chosen two possible mines for the Autobots to raid themselves. It would make logical sense: the theft wouldn’t be as noticeable if it was spread across the mines. Yet, if the workers at even one mine noticed before the ‘supply run’ was complete….

_Ugh…so many ways this could all go wrong…._

~Please stop thinking so hard over this…~

He jumped with an undignified squawk, his plating briefly flaring out and his wings snapping back. Starscream turned around and looked until he spotted Arcee. She, along with a few other bots, were looking at him curiously.

“I can’t help but think hard about it!” he proclaimed. “I lost Skywarp once…I don’t want to lose him again!”

The various expressions were now confused. “What are you talkin’ about, Screamer?” Wheeljack commented. “None of us said anythin’!”

“Arcee did…in my mind,” Starscream huffed.

Arcee’s optics were wide. “Wait…I can still-“ The last part was telepathically. ~Do this?~

“Yes, you can…you did it before during our encounter with Airachnid,” Starscream confirmed. “I had forgotten about that until now for…obvious reasons….”

“But how…I thought…” The two-wheeler was rubbing her head.

“The ability to communicate telepathically is based on the resonance of the soul, not the physical body,” Phaseshot informed her. “With that said, I am curious.”

“Oh no…don’t you dare!” Arcee protested as her frame tensed. “Yes, I heard that…you better not be reading my processor!”

“Nay, I lost that ability along with my old body,” Phaseshot commented, before looking at him.

“Thank Primus….” Starscream heard Arcee grumble before he felt something ‘poke’ his mind.

He stiffened as that poking continued for several nanos. Then…

~Ah, a bit more interference in this case…~ Phaseshot’s voice spoke in his mind. Starscream immediately noticed a difference: Arcee’s ‘voice’ felt ‘tingly’, while Phaseshot’s felt ‘warm’. Didn’t Arcee mention once that how their mindvoice felt was based on their element?

“Interference?” Starscream queried.

“Difficult to explain, think of it as a…hmm….” A hand gestured wildly for a moment. “Like a thick fog. Difficult to see and navigate through. This is likely caused by your soul being in two places.”

“That would explain why it took a while for me to realize I could even ‘talk’ to him that way in the first place,” Arcee sighed. “Then again, I wasn’t actively ‘attempting’ to do so.”

“That question that springs to my processor in this regard,” Ratchet spoke up. “Is can he ‘talk’ back to either of you that way?”

“No…I’ve tried a few times before when we were on our own,” Starscream admitted with a sigh. “Likely because of my ‘soul being in two places’ as Phaseshot put it….”

“Not necessarily,” Phaseshot corrected. “Just because a soul can ‘hear’ telepathy, doesn’t mean they can also ‘speak’ it. Arcee and I can both send and receive because we both were dragons, thus our souls ‘remembered’ how. You were never a dragon, or any other species capable of such a talent.”

“A point…he already has the sigma of immortality,” Ratchet mused. “No Cybertronian has two…”

“Arcee technically does,” Starscream pointed out. “Shapeshifting and telepathy.”

“And I got those not exactly through ‘normal’ means…,” Arcee countered, folding her arms.

“And _I_ am normal?” Starscream muttered bitterly.

“Is there such a thing as ‘normalcy’?” Phaseshot questioned with a casual shrug. “We are all different, unique in our own ways.”

“While that is true, there are accepted standards…,” Ratchet pointed out.

“Just because it is ‘accepted’ doesn’t mean it’s truly ‘normal’,” Phaseshot countered with a smirk, Ratchet glaring at him.

“Can we change the subject? This philosophy talk is giving me a processor ache,” Bulkhead groaned. A few bots chuckled.

“Got ya covered there, Bulk,” Wheeljack spoke up as he walked over to the map. “Just got the call from Warp. Yarzon’s having him hit this mine.” He pointed at the location. “In a few Earth breems.”

Which was right within his own predictions. He felt pleased with himself. “Then I suggest we hit this one,” he announced, pointing at different location. “It’s big enough to cause quite a stir and should bring them running…while being far enough away they shouldn’t connect the two events….”

“Then let us make final preparations,” Optimus announced. “Starscream I ask that you remain in base. If Megatron was to arrive….”

Starscream nodded understanding. There was no telling when Megatron may bring the ‘fuse’ along if he decided to join the battle.

“I request to remain as well, Optimus,” Phaseshot stated. “I feel I would be needed most here.”

Everyone looked at the former dragon, a hint of worry on their faces, but no one questioned why. Optimus simply nodded in acknowledgement; his lips pressed thin. Starscream felt a nasty twist in his tank.

One that told him that things will not go as smoothly as they hoped….

\--

_A few breems later…._

Wilderness

Wheeljack shifted from one foot to the next, feeling uneasy, but ensured he stayed quiet. With the mine close by he didn’t want to risk drawing attention. At least, not yet.

He had hoped volunteering to ‘watch Skywarp’s back’ would ease his worry. Thought his presence here would help prevent anything bad from happening to the vulnerable seeker. Only it hadn’t: if anything, he felt worse.

If something happened to Skywarp today…it would likely be his fault.

Just like what happened to-

{:Hey.:} A whistle came from behind him.

Wheeljack jumped, barely stopping a yelp from coming out of his vocalizer. He started to whirl around, half-ready to strike the one that snuck up on him. Then his processor fully processed what he had heard and he relaxed mid-spin. Once he was fully turned around, Skywarp materialized in front of him, a faint smile on his face. He felt a shot of warmth in his spark at that smile.

_Ugh…no…._ Yet despite his thoughts, he caught himself smiling back in return. Wheeljack had tried to keep his distance from the seeker whenever he was visiting. However, it was like he was magnetically _drawn_ to him. Like whenever Skywarp was practicing ‘whistling Basic’: Wheeljack couldn’t help but join in to assist. Made it really difficult to avoid that ‘attachment’ thing he didn’t like doing these days.

Though…admittedly…watching Ratchet cringe and try his best to ignore them was amusing.

]Sorry for startling you,[ Skywarp wingsigned. ]Did the other’s start their raid yet?[ Huh, he just noticed but Skywarp was keeping his right optic closed for some reason.

//They were waiting for you to show up here, give me a nano to let them know,\\\ Wheeljack told him privately, then switched to the battlecomm. //Optimus, he’s here.\\\

//Acknowledged,\\\ the Prime replied. //Inform him it would be wise to wait a few moments before commencing.\\\

//Got it.\\\ He switched back to private. //Big guy said to hold off a few kliks before starting. By the way, did Yarzon do something with your right optic?\\\

Skywarp was nodding, then wingsigned. ]He did.[ The right optic was opened, revealing a functioning optic within. It was different from the left one, the outer ring a brighter, fuzzier red compared to the clean edged, nearly white outer ring of the left one. His memory was fuzzy, but that he was fairly certain that really was once Thundercracker’s right optic.

//Ah, I see he got it to work finally. Just in time for this op,\\\ Wheeljack commented, smiling.

]It’s nice to have depth perception again,[ Skywarp admitted, starting to walk toward the nearby mine. ]He was able to make a few other minor repairs as well. Didn’t touch the pump though.[

//Not surprised, considering how much Ratchet was griping about how it looked. He’ll be glad to finally get to repair you,\\\ Wheeljack stated as he followed him. In a short time, they were both within view of a dug-out ravine. On one side of it was a large stack of energon crates, with only a couple of guards close by. Servant class were diligently prepping more crates and digging out more crystals not far off.

Should be an easy hit, but looking at this mine, he felt his tank twist. Something felt off, and he couldn’t quite place _why._ He didn’t like when he couldn’t pinpoint a problem. Maybe he was just worried about Skywarp overexerting himself for this supply run.

Perhaps once Skywarp was all fixed up, his tank won’t be rolling as much with worry over the seeker. He wanted to tell himself, _convince_ himself that it was the old ‘protect the little bot’ coding from his early Wrecker days that was making him feel like this. It had to be! That was much more preferable than…than….

Skywarp’s ‘wings’ were moving again, Wheeljack barely catching what he was saying. ]… long enough. I’m going in.[

//Please be careful…,\\\ Wheeljack blurted out as the seeker disappeared. Shortly thereafter, he started seeing crates disappear. He stayed put, having agreed to only attack if it looked like Skywarp would be discovered too soon.

_Three crates in subspace…carrying a fourth. Three trips._ That was twelve crates for one typical supply run from what he recalled. Skywarp needed three times as much this time…thirty-six. The drones would surely notice something off by the time he swiped half that number.

//Wheeljack, what is your status?\\\ Optimus pinged him.

//Operation commencin’,\\\ he replied. //Somethin’…feels off though.\\\

Four crates down and he saw the second ‘round’ starting. There was a thoughtful, yet concerned sounding noise from Optimus end. By the time he spoke again, a third round of crates were disappearing. //I agree…the drones at our location seem almost…confused.\\\

//Confused?\\\ That didn’t help the ‘bad feeling’ in his tank any.

//They seem uncertain whether to fight or…\\\ Optimus seemed uncertain what word to use. //Just watch.\\\

Wheeljack blinked, then studied the drones below more carefully. The servant class were acting normally as far as he could tell, but the guards? They were borderline being _lazy_. He was certain one of them was looking right at the crates when one of them disappeared during start of the fourth round, but didn’t react. Either this was a really subpar bunch of drones or….

…they were expecting this.

His intake went dry and his tank felt like it had a chunk of lead in it. Starscream’s fears were right: they had set something up for Skywarp. The question was, what? Whatever it was, he couldn’t just stand here and wait for it to happen!

With a grunt, he leapt off his perch, landing atop one of the guards, crushing it. He drew, then threw one of his sabers at the other guard, killing it before it could call out. A glance at the workers showed they didn’t notice…or were purposely not reacting. After retrieving his sword, he took the chance to study the crates: if they did decide to start to attack, his armor was tough enough to handle a few bolts.

…unless they hit the energon. In theory he _should_ be tough enough to handle that. Rather not find out the hard way though….

At first glance, nothing was unusual about them. His many vorns as a mechanic and engineer, however, quickly revealed something different. It was only on a couple crates he could see but there was a small device with a green blinking light on them. At this point, he realized no more crates had disappeared. The fifth round should have come and gone by now. His tank tight, he swiped one of the devices off a crate and took a closer look. 

It was a tracking device.

He was just about to comm Skywarp to warn him when he got a comm from someone else. Yarzon.

//Dreadwing has found him!\\\ The Quintesson’s voice was shrill in panic. He was just about ask where he was when he got a message with a set of coordinates.

Wheeljack needed no further prompting. //Wheeljack to base! I need a ground bridge!\\\ he cried.

He was regretting taking the alt-mode he had chosen right now. His alt mode was fast, but he could only reach top speed on a proper road. Out in the wilds like this, he feared he wouldn’t be fast enough to get to Skywarp in time. As the ground bridge appeared, he could only hope Skywarp was able to cloak, or even better, teleport away, in time….

\--

_Meanwhile…._

After the fourth trip, Skywarp realized needed a quick breather. He had forgotten that while he could do six teleports in close succession, he had always felt tired after, _especially_ if he did so while cloaked. Today, after the eighth, he could feel the strain on his spark…and his pump. Scrap, he should have mentioned this to both Yarzon and the Autobots. He was such an idiot…as usual.

He sat down by the crates he had pilfered thus far and took out a cube of medical grade. As he started sipping it, he sent a quick message to Yarzon. //#Had to stop for a few,#\\\ he told him. //#Eight teleports while cloaked in a short time is apparently my hard limit.#\\\

//Kazak…we should have taken that possibility into consideration,\\\ Yarzon sighed. //They will likely notice the missing crates before you can start again. Though…hmm….\\\ The Quintesson was quiet a moment. //It appears your new friends are causing trouble at a different mine, hopefully they keep their attention until you are finished.\\\

Skywarp chuckled but didn’t comment. He jumped a bit when he heard a ground bridge open. Huh, perhaps Wheeljack got worried when he didn’t see a fifth-round start? How thoughtful! He set down his cube and was about to shout out to the new arrival when a voice that was definitely _not_ Wheeljack called out.

“Are you here, thief?”

_Scrap scrap scrap!_ //#Tgey dudnt! Deadwumg is hwre!#\\\ He sent quickly to Yarzon as he hunkered down behind the crates, ensuring he was cloaked. Scrap…why did Starscream have to right!? Frag it! He was regretting _not_ taking the chance of Yarzon doing an epic Quintesson freak out and warning him about this possibility!

And did that idiot _seriously_ expect him to reveal himself? He was an idiot…not _stupid!_

Skywarp could hear the Air Commander start to circle the pile of crates. As quietly as he could, he crept around the crates to keep them between him and the larger seeker. Then, he heard Dreadwing pause. Cautiously, he poked his head up to get optics on him.

Dreadwing was holding the open cube of energon he had been drinking. Scrap…that guy was smart enough to use that to figure out he was here very recently…if not still here. He really should teleport right now, but from the ache he could still feel in his spark? It wouldn’t be a good idea unless he wanted to risk not all of him making it to the destination. He was already missing enough pieces, thank you very much!

His best hope was to wait until Dreadwing decided he was no longer here and left, perhaps taking some of the stolen crates back with him. He just needed to stay quiet and out of sight until then….

‘Where are you?” Dreadwing was snarling, resuming his search at a quicker pace. “Hiding is for cowards!”

_Not cowardly if you’re unable to fight, dumbaft!_ Skywarp rolled his optics as he continued to keep the crates between him and Dreadwing.

//I gave Wheeljack your location,\\\ Yarzon told him, Skywarp hearing the panic in his voice. //Hold out until he gets there.\\\

That’s a good thing. Friendly back up good!

_Clink._

And that was bad!

He froze, cursing the stupid rock that just _had_ to get in his way! Dreadwing was looking right in his direction. Skywarp started praying that the larger seeker didn’t charge. Staying absolutely still, hoping Dreadwing would resume searching.

Then the seeker tossed something over the crates toward him. Something small and spherical. Instinctively, Skywarp moved away, but couldn’t get far enough before the thing went off. It exploded into a shower of orange dust.

Ew! Orange! Why did it have to be _orange_! Worse than the terrible color choice, Skywarp noticed the powder was already settling onto his frame. Exposing the one critical flaw with his cloaking device.

It cannot conceal things that are _on_ his frame.

Which meant, he was now ‘nicely’ outlined in orange for Dreadwing. Whom now had a smirk on face. “There you are….,” the seeker purred with satisfaction. 

Skywarp started running, hearing the other seeker crash through the pile of crates with a roar. He didn’t make it far before his pump protested, resulting in him slowing and stumbling. Enough for the other seeker to catch up. He felt one Dreadwing’s strong hands grab him by two wing poles.

“Reveal yourself properly, so you may be judged!” Dreadwing growled.

Not good, not good! Skywarp could already tell his cloaking device was starting to spaz out due to his brief pump freak out. He’ll need to turn it off, but he couldn’t allow Dreadwing to know who he was!

Wait…he had something to fix that! He quickly took out the needed device and affixed it to his chest.

“I said reveal yourself!” Dreadwing insisted, shaking him by the wing poles. Ow! “So we can discuss your crimes like proper bots!”

_As you wish._ He activated the device just before deactivating the cloaking device, revealing himself in his old green and grey Skyquake disguise.

Dreadwing visibly recoiled, his expression both stunned and almost…mournful?

Wait…didn’t Dreadwing have a twin by that name and exact colors?

Uh…perhaps this wasn’t the best idea.

“You…dare… _mock_ my dead twin!?” Dreadwing suddenly bellowed, his expression now of fury.

Nope it wasn’t! His battle protocols kicking in, he transformed one arm into a blade and slashed the seeker across the face. It had the desired effect of making Dreadwing release him, just as he saw a ground bridge open a distance behind him. Wheeljack, it had to be!

He started to run around Dreadwing to head for it.

Then something hit him in the side of the chest, likely Dreadwing lashing out in pain and rage. He was sent flying, then started tumbling when he hit the ground.. This would have stunned a healthy seeker. Skywarp wasn’t one of those.

He immediately felt his pump start to seize and falter. Skywarp soundlessly gasped as he clenched his chest in pain. The world spun and it felt like his processor was floating away. His frame started to feel cold and felt like he just wanted to go into recharge.

Everything felt like it was fading away….

_No…I…wanted to see…Wheeljack’s…smile…again…._

He thought he heard Wheeljack cry out in denial…before everything went dark….


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The thinnest of threads.

When Wheeljack had called for a ground bridge, Starscream feared something had happened. Once the Wrecker had returned to base and, rather sporadically, explained what he had found and was told as he changed the bridge coordinates, he knew his worse fears had been realized. He knew Skywarp’s limitations when he was healthy: they would be even greater in his current state.

So when Wheeljack dashed back through the ground bridge, Starscream was hot on his aft, ignoring Ratchet’s shouts of protest. No one was going to stop him from coming to his brother’s aid! Not after finding out that he had been alive all this time! Never again he will him behind…even if he only found a corpse.

And a corpse he feared he had when the stepped through the other side. They just saw Skywarp flying after being hit by Dreadwing. It didn’t pass his notice that Skywarp was green and grey, instead of black and purple: the disfigured seeker must have attempted to use the old holo emitter to disguise his identity. However, that emitter was either damaged or knocked off as Skywarp tumbled on the ground, as his true coloration was on display by the time he fell still.

Skywarp was clenching his chest, then went limp, his optics darkening. Starscream felt his spark sink as Wheeljack cried out in despair. On Dreadwing’s end, the rival Air Commander looked stunned at Skywarp’s ‘color change’, a hint of regret flickering over his face.

“No!” The Wrecker had cried, his tone quickly turning to grief and rage. “You’re dead, Dreadwing! Dead ya hear me!” Out of the corner of his optics saw him reach for his blades.

“No!” Starscream cried, throwing a hand out to block him. “Get him back to base! Now! Every nano will count here if he is to live! I’ll deal with Dreadwing….”

Wheeljack looked at him, stunned, then nodded. “Rip his wings off…,” he growled as he ran for Skywarp.

Starscream charged Dreadwing in turn, to ensure the seeker didn’t interfere. “You will pay for what you have done this day, you _ars kuttung sx’ans ftu’a’_!” he screeched.

Dreadwing seemed all too happy to be ‘distracted’ by him. He side stepped his initial lunge, Starscream quickly twisting away from the obvious counterattack. “Speaking language of the betrayers?” Dreadwing sneered as they squared off. “How appropriate.”

“And Megatron hasn’t betrayed us?” Starscream growled, watching as Wheeljack carried Skywarp back through the portal through his peripheral. “Tell me, Dreadwing, what happened to his goal of equality for all? To free the oppressed? He abandoned it! If he even believed in it at all! We have a dead world and a dying population due to his power mad bloodlust!”

“The Autobots drove him to extremes to achieve his noble goals!” Dreadwing countered as they started to exchange blows. Starscream using his agility his speed while Dreadwing was more about brute force. “They our responsible for the deaths of countless innocents!”

“And _more_ are on Megatron’s hands!” Starscream spat, scoring a swipe on one of the other seeker’s wings. In response, Dreadwing managed to seize him by a wing and toss him. Stascream expertly tucked and rolled to prevent serious damage to his wings before springing back up to his feet. “Who do you think poisoned the core?” he hissed.

“The answer is obvious!” Dreadwing roared as he changed at him, he ducked under his swinging arms, then scored another swipe on his side. “The Autobot’s did when they jettisoned the Allspark!”

“Tsk tsk, Dreadwing,” Starscream chided as he danced away. “That didn’t kill the planet…it was what happened after by Megatron’s hands! He poisoned it with dark energon!”

“Dark Energon?” The seeker seemed genuinely surprised. “That stuff is a myth!”

Starscream laughed. “Oh how little you know…,” he stated with a smirk. “There was dark energon hidden upon Trypticon Station, being researched and studied. Megatron learned about it, then took it by force from me!”

“I was informed you joined our side willingly!” Dreadwing snapped, cutting the air with a hand.

“You were told only what Megatron knew would ensure you remained loyal to him!” Starscream spat, really wishing he could remember everything right now. “The ‘extremes’ you know of _pale_ to the truth!”

“You are a twister of words and a known liar!” Dreadwing roared as he lunged. This time, Starscream couldn’t quite get out of the way and found himself slammed to the ground.

“I was made that way!” Starscream screeched once he had his breath back. “My personality was altered by Shockwave at _his_ bidding!” He clawed, kicked and scratched at the larger seeker.

“Another lie! And will hear no more of it!” he sneered as he caught his hands, restricting his movement. 

“So you chose to remain deaf and blind to the truth?” Starscream snarled. “Well now, I shall _assist_ you with the former!” He opened his intake, preparing to use his sonic screech.

“Oh no you don’t!” Dreadwing chuckled, covering his intake with one hand. “I am…aware…of that little _trick_ of yours!” Starscream thought he heard a ground bridge opening. Hopefully that was reinforcements from _his_ side, not Dreadwing’s.

“I do not know why our Lord Megatron _insists_ on keeping you alive,” Dreadwing continued, raising to his feet and lifting him up into the air with ease. “But alive I shall deliver you to him!”

There was a roar, drawing Dreadwing’s attention. Starscream just saw the seeker’s optics start to widen before something large and tan slam into him. The impact forced Dreadwing to release his grip upon him and Starscream dropped gracefully to the ground. He didn’t stand idle though: he joined Phaseshot on clawing and scratching at the Decepticon.

Those hooked claws of Phaseshot were really effective, Starscream noticed. They were easily ripping and tearing pieces off of Dreadwing’s frame. He found himself a bit jealous, if he was to be honest with himself. Regardless, they continued to drive him back, until Dreadwing was finally able to smack both of them back.

“You…fight like a beast!” Dreadwing growled, backing away, his frame leaking from many wounds.

“Of course I do,” Phaseshot retorted calmly, standing so far hunched over he may as well be on all fours. “A ‘beast’ was my previous form….”

“What?” Dreadwing looked confused, to which Starscream smirked and Phaseshot chuckled.

“Tell me, Dreadwing,” Phaseshot started to say as he stood up straight. “Do you remember what I told you the first time we met?”

Starscream glanced his way, wondering what he was getting at. The former dragon was smirking, then seemed to mutter something. Dreadwing seemed briefly confused, then his optics widened as Phaseshot transformed one arm into a flamethrower.

Instead of a normal fire though, a blue-white flame shot forth. Starscream jumped back, his intake gapping in shock. There was only one compound he knew of which burned in that specific color!

Dicyanoactylene. A compound that is capable of producing a fire with a temperature exceeding 6000K in the right environment. Hot enough, with heat to spare, to reduce to any Cybertronian to molten slag within moments.

Dreadwing apparently had some chemistry in his education, for he was shrieking in terror, stumbling back a few paces before transforming and flying away. They watched him go for a moment, before Starscream turned to him, questions on his mind.

“What the frag did you tell him before that would make him react like that?” he asked.

“I told him he would perish by the ‘hottest of flames’,” Phaseshot replied with a casual shrug as he turned to face the scattered mess of energon cubes.

“And you just so happen to be able to produce that kind of flame?”

“Nay. My fire is a common yellow-orange,” Phaseshot replied as he picked up a crate. “What you…and Dreadwing…saw, was an illusion I cast.”

“And he once he stops panicking, he’ll realize he should have had his face melted off if it was the real thing,” Starscream stated, chuckling a bit. “Oh to see his face when he does….” His expression fell when he remembered something important. “Skywarp…is he?”

“Ratchet and Jetfire were fighting to save him when I left.” Was the soft-spoken answer.

\--

_Moments ago…._

Autobot Base

Get the medbay ready. That’s what Phaseshot had stated the moment Wheeljack and Starscream had gone through the ground bridge. Ratchet had scoffed at him, reminding him that it was ‘always ready’.

“For a critical patient?” Phaseshot had questioned, his expression having been deadly serious.

Scrap. He should have known. As Phaseshot ‘advised’ Jetfire be ready on the ground bridge platform, Ratchet started digging out all the equipment he thought he needed and hoped he was wrong. He glanced at a small bypass machine he had only recently finished building. Ratchet had only built it after he had examined Skywarp, but still prayed to Primus he would never need to use it.

Considering who Wheeljack and Starscream had left to assist, his prayers were not likely to answered. Ratchet pulled out the device and started setting it up, glancing toward the still open portal. At that very moment, Wheeljack came back through.

He was carrying a limp, dark-opticked Skywarp, the left side of the seeker’s chest visibly cracked and leaking energon.

Oh Primus, they likely had only a few kliks, if that, to save him. “Bring him here! Now!” Ratchet shouted as Jetfire took Skywarp from the Wrecker’s arms. Jetfire quickly double timed it to the medbay and set him on the berth as Phaseshot turned off the ground bridge. “Jetfire, fetch me a few canisters of processed med-grade,” Ratchet commanded as he quickly started opening and removing panels on the seeker’s frame. 

What he saw, once he got into the chest cavity, was an energon pump that was feebly still attempting to function. There was a split down it’s main housing, one from which more and more precious energon spilled out. A novice may have panicked at such a sight, but Ratchet was no novice, not by far. Panic was not wanted, nor needed, here.

As he quickly disconnected the intake line from the broken pump, Jetfire returned with the canisters. Ratchet told him to fill the main chamber of the bypass machine with one of them as he connected the intake line to the intake tube of the bypass. Now for the outtake line.

Jetfire, after attaching the canister, had attached the spark monitor to the limp seeker. The numbers that came up were not good. They had little time…

…and the outtake line was stuck.

\--

47…46…45….

Skywarp’s spark energon was ticking down like a clock, a bomb even…and Wheeljack could only stand there helpless, watching it. What was the medic doing?

42…41…40….

Ratchet looked like he was struggling with something. Trying to detach a part? Jetfire had his hands in Skywarp’s chassis now.

37…36…35….

The ground bridge behind him opened. He turned to see Phaseshot at the controls.

“Where are ya goin’!?” he demanded.

“Starscream needs aid,” was all the beastformer said before running through on all fours. He was half tempted to follow him, as he didn’t want watch this.

Watch another bot he cared about leave him forever.

26…25…24….

“Primus dammit!” Ratchet was growling. He watched as the medic grabbed a scalpel and started cutting something.

22…21…20… An alarm started to go off, warning of imminent spark death.

“D-Doc….,” Wheeljack whimpered, his despair increasing with each down tick. Like his own life was ebbing away with Skywarp….

“I know!” Ratchet snapped as he pulled something free and attached it to a tube from a device.

17…16…15…

Wheeljack trembled as Ratchet quickly wrapped something around that connection, then flipped on the machine. There was a hiss of a vacuum being made as the machine jumped to life.

10…9…9…9….

“Come on…,” Jetfire was breathing, Wheeljack feeling like his own spark was standing still now.

9…9…10…11…14….

No one moved, all optics transfixed upon that monitor. Waiting, praying, for those numbers to keep going up.

16…24…30…39…. 

The alarm had stopped wailing, but only once did it hit fifty and beyond, did they all sigh with relief. Skywarp was stable, but even Wheeljack knew that could change at any moment. As he watched Ratchet started to work on ensuring he _stayed_ stable, with Jetfire on the opposite side providing what assistance he could. Wheeljack wished he could help, but he knew he would only get in the way.

He hated feeling helpless… _useless_. Wheeljack needed to _do_ something. Glancing around the medbay, he spotted the energon canisters Jetfire brought, one of them the seeker was hooking up to an IV. Energon, they were low, weren’t they? No telling how much Optimus the other’s will be able to grab, but he knew where there were, at most, sixteen cubes just sitting out in the open.

Ratchet will need the energon for Skywarp and the future. Yes, he will go fetch those cubes for them. If Yarzon pitched a fit, well, frag him. He put Skywarp in this situation in the first place.

“Can’t watch this…gonna make myself useful elsewhere,” Wheeljack half-muttered as he turned to started back toward the still open bridge. He heard a grunt of acknowledgement from Ratchet in response.

Hopefully the fight with Dreadwing didn’t blow up the whole collection. If not, and Dreadwing was still there? Bonus. He could use a Con punching bag right now…..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment! They are writers fuel, after all!
> 
> \--
> 
> Translation:
> 
> ‘Aft kissing tyrant lover’


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Words not meant to be told.

Wilderness

Starscream walked among the scattered energon crates, inspecting them. Eventually, he spotted what he was looking for. He detached the still blinking tracking device from one of the crates and sneered at it, before looking for more. It was the only one.

_It only took one…._ Starscream growled audibly, then crushed the device in his hand before looking back toward the ground bridge. It was still open and that didn’t sit well with him. One it was a waste of precious energy and two, it hinted that Skywarp’s condition was dire enough that no one took the few nanos it would take to shut it down

_Please make it…_ If he didn’t, he knew he was still partly to blame for his passing. A _healthy_ Skywarp would not have fallen to Dreadwing so easy and he knew the black seeker’s current state was due to his own arrogance.

_Was even that truly my fault? I wasn’t myself…._ He wasn’t sure if any war tribunal would accept the ‘I wasn’t myself’ excuse for the many crimes he had committed.

“Starscream,” Phaseshot called out, getting his attention. “What is this?” The beastformer was holding something in his hand as he approached him. “This is clearly not humanmade.”

He recognized it immediately. “That’s a holo-emitter,” he replied as he took the device into his own hands. “A device used to project an image over an area. This version is designed to project a disguise over our frames to conceal our identity.”

“Ah…to hide during your war?”

Starscream shook his head. “No, Skywarp, Thundercracker and I used them to hide ourselves from Quintesson optics,” he replied. “Back when I was still ‘Nightfire’. I’m not surprised he kept it…bot can’t seem to throw things away. This likely fell off while Warp was…tumbling…” A shudder passed through his frame at the still too fresh memory.

Phaseshot was nodding, then looked passed him. “Perhaps we are about to find out if you will be able to return it to him…,” he commented softly.

Starscream looked back to see Wheeljack just in front of the vortex of the ground bridge, heading toward them. The Wrecker looked to be experiencing a mix of emotions from fury, distress, hopelessness and relief. “Where is Dreadwing?” he was asking, his tone tight.

“Driven off. Unfortunately, I was unable to ‘rip his wings off’ like you requested,” Starscream replied as he subspaced the holo-emitter for safe keeping. “Skywarp?”

At this Wheeljack sighed. “He’s…stable,” he replied. “Ratchet was barely able to keep him from joinin’ the AllSpark. He and Jetfire are working on repairin’ him now….” 

Starscream sighed with relief: he hadn’t lost him again. 

“I came here to retrieve this energon,” Wheeljack continued. “Doc will need it more that squid right now.”

He flinched at Yarzon being referred to as a ‘squid’, but he understood why he was referred to as such. Yarzon was partly responsible for what happened to Skywarp. Surely, someone as intelligent as he would have thought of ways to get supplies without putting Skywarp at such risk!

“I agree,” he stated. “Even if Ratchet didn’t, eventually the Decepticons will return to reclaim it. It would be foolish to leave it here.”

“Between the three of us, we should make short work of getting this back to base then,” Wheeljack commented as he started picking up crates. “You already removed any tracking devices, right?”

“I only found one in my inspection,” Starscream replied as he and Phaseshot did the same. Even if he had missed any, he doubted the trackers would be able to transmit through the base shielding.

“It only took one…,” he heard the Wrecker grumble, echoing his earlier thoughts.

\--

Autobot Base

It had been a long time since Ratchet had worked on such a critical case. In a way it was a refreshing change of pace to the old medic. It enabled him to ensure he still had the knowledge and skill to resolve it. A challenge to keep his processor sharp. At the same time, however, it was also infuriating.

This could have… _should_ have…been prevented. Yarzon had no business sending Skywarp out on missions in a state like this. If he ever got to talk to that Quintesson again, via over comms or face to face, he was going to lay it on him. He was certain at least two other bots desired to do the same as well.

Roasting that Quintesson to a crisp with heated words would have to wait however, for there was much work to be done on the seeker. The seating for Skywarp’s pump, for instance, needed a lot of structural repair and reinforcement. That had to be done before he could even _think_ about the fixing the pump. Speaking of which, from how damaged it was before and the new damage it incurred, it was likely better just to construct a new one. That’s going to take up much of what was left of their energon stores.

Or not.

Glancing up he saw Wheeljack return carrying a stack of energon crates. Behind him was Starscream doing the same. Phaseshot was last, but instead of carrying it appeared he opted to use magic to bring in what was left of the pile they had plundered. Sixteen crates in all, that should cover Skywarp’s repairs easily. Only then was the ground bridge finally closed.

Then was reopened when Optimus requested a ground bridge. That team returned with even more crates. Ratchet caught Optimus looking grimly Skywarp’s way, the obvious question in his optics.

“He’ll live,” Ratchet announced, pausing in his work to properly address everyone. He noted a collective sigh of relief. “For his safety, he will be kept in medical stasis until his new pump is constructed and installed. The bypass machine I have him hooked up to wouldn’t be able to handle the load if he gets stressed.”

Optimus was nodding in understanding, then looked Wheeljack’s way. The Wrecker shifted with discomfort and regret. “What happened?” the Prime asked.

“Trackin’ devices were planted on random crates,” Wheeljack replied with a sigh. “That was why the drones were acting odd…they _wanted_ him to take the crates so they could track him down and ambush him.”

“That explains those devices we found on a few of the crates we brought with us,” Arcee remarked. “We removed them just in case before bringing them in. Did want to take the chance they were mini-bombs set to blow up our supply…..”

Ratchet nodded in agreement. He wouldn’t put it past Megatron to pull something like that at some point. No sense in taking unnecessary risks.

“They also apparently knew how to counter Skywarp’s cloaking device,” Jetfire commented. “He’s covered with this…bright orange dust.”

“With how his cloaking device functions, Dreadwing could have achieved the same effect by just throwing dirt in his direction,” Starscream muttered, Jetfire nodding in agreement. “Unfortunately, Warp, in his attempt to hide his identity afterward…forgot one detail about Dreadwing.”

“Which was?” Optimus asked curiously.

At this, Starscream pulled out a device from his subspace. “Yarzon gave us these holo-emitters long ago,” he explained. “Skywarp’s was set to ‘change’ his paint-job to a green and grey color scheme. Unfortunately, that’s the exact same color scheme as Dreadwing’s dead twin….”

“Why is that significant?”

“Because I don’t think Dreadwing _meant_ to harm him,” Starscream scowled. “A moment of anger at being ‘reminded’ of what he had lost. I believe he was tasked with capturing Skywarp….”

“To use him as a lure to get you back, no doubt,” Arcee grumbled in response, her arms folded and Starscream nodding in agreement.

“Obviously, when Megatron finally decided to look into the thefts, they noticed certain details that made them at least suspect it was Skywarp…and took appropriate measures.”

“But why would Megatron even suspect Warpers?” Bulkhead questioned. “He would have thought him dead like everyone else….”

“Because _I_ was the one that told him he had perished.,” Starscream growled. “And considering his ‘death’ was at the same time as an attempt on his life, Megatron would easily decide I was lying to protect him. Skywarp was always loyal to me and me alone and what better way for an assassin to stab him in the back if you think said assassin was dead?”

“Only Warp rarely used those ‘assassination’ skills the Quintessons taught him…,” Jetfire sighed. “He was a borderline pacifist that usually only fought in self-defense of himself and those he considered family.”

Ratchet looked down at the comatose seeker on his slab with a mix of sympathy and awe. To live under the Decepticon regime with those kinds of morals must have been very difficult. Though being a teleporter with a cloaking mod likely helped there….

“Regardless, Megatron now knows we have him in our care,” Optimus stated with concern. “He will likely take measures to try to negate his abilities.

“And likely set those up before we can finish repairing him…,” Ratchet agreed.

“Pit…if only I had noticed those trackin’ devices sooner…,” Wheeljack lamented. “Sky wouldn’t be….” The Wrecker was unable to finish his thought, looking pained and guilt stricken. Then his expression turned to fury as his optics locked onto Phaseshot. “This is why you told me all that slag…wasn’t it?”

The former dragon quirked a brow, looking mildly confused.

“Oh don’t tell me you forgot!” Wheeljack snapped. “All that Pit about not isolating myself…openin’ my spark to others?” He then pointed at Skywarp’s prone form. “You knew this was goin’ to happen!”

“At the time I told you those things, no,” Phaseshot countered. “I only saw an image of you dead on a vast battlefield, surrounded by dead foes…alone. That vision has since changed…into one where you are surrounded by darkness, unable to move but alive, with only your thoughts to accompany you.”

That…sounded a bit like a waking coma, only worse. If that vision wasn’t meant to be taken literally. Phaseshot’s prophesies _did_ tend to be more metaphorical in nature….

Wheeljack visibly recoiled at this. “Is that supposed to be my fate?” he asked, his tone tense. Phaseshot said nothing. “Doesn’t sound like that ‘advice’ you gave me helped any!”

“Seeing a terrible event does not mean it is the ultimate outcome intended for the one within it,” Phaseshot commented softly.

“Yeah, well, I’m tired of all the ‘terrible events’ gettin’ tossed in my face!” Wheeljack snapped, making a cutting motion with his hand. “I’m done with it!”

“Fool, the path to the best outcome is often not filled with sunshine and rainbows!” Phaseshot snapped. “Pain and suffering lines many paths, paths that must be traveled to truly grow!”

“The I’ll find the path that has none of that ‘pain and suffering’ scrap!” Wheeljack turned around and started heading for the lift. “I feel I’ve had several lifetimes of it as is!”

At this Phaseshot growled, the plates on his frame flaring, optics glowing. “Selfish mortal!” he declared, Ratchet literally feeling the _power_ behind that voice, causing him to recoil. “If you leave the planet, you will doom not only your life, but the lives of two others!” Immediately after, he stiffened, his expression akin to a sparkling that had been caught doing something it wasn’t supposed to.

Wheeljack had stopped in his tracks, his frame stiff. He then slowly turned around, his frame trembling. For a moment he was looking at Bulkhead, his expression one of dread, then he looked back at the beastformer. “Who?” he asked, his voice low.

“I’ve said too much as is…,” Phaseshot admitted softly, his voice carrying a faint whine and his posture slumped.

“Who! Primus dammit!” Wheeljack cried, stomping up to him. “Else I _will_ leave right now and take Bulk with me!”

There was a nervous snort from Phaseshot, his wings flicking as he shifted in place. Then his frame relaxed as he relented. “Three threads travel together, a white, a green and a purple, all damaged in some way,” he began.

“Oh come on! Enough with the metaphors!” Wheeljack griped but Phaseshot continued regardless.

“The green rejects the purple and the white unravels. A yellow thread arrives and turns the green black, silencing it forever. It then captures the lonely purple and consumes it. The white thread…never comes back together.”

The room was filled with silence as everyone took that prophecy in. Once more Wheeljack was looking at Bulkhead. “Is…is that the intended future?” he asked, his voice quiet.

“It is the one I am trying to prevent,” Phaseshot replied grimly. “But it _will_ come fully to pass if you do not heed the advice I have given you.”

Once more the room was silent, only the steady beeping of Skywarp’s spark monitor penetrating it. Four colored threads, one of them obviously had to be Wheeljack, but…did the color refer to their frame or spark color? 

Before he could ponder over it further, he saw Wheeljack stiffen in surprise. The Wrecker then reached up to his comm…

“Yeah I hear ya, squid…,” the Wrecker grumbled, who he was talking to being obvious. The medic could feel the tension rise in the room. “If ya want to find out what happened to him, you get your aft over here and see for yourself!” The plating on Wheeljack’s frame was now flared, showing his agitation.

A tense silence followed as Wheeljack, everyone, waited for Yarzon’s reply. Ratchet was expecting the Quintesson to disconnect on him again, to be honest. The brief look of surprise on the Wrecker’s face suggested that perhaps the Quintesson wasn’t going to run from this.

“He’ll be sending us coordinates for a ground bridge in about a half-breem…,” Wheeljack announced.

Well now, perhaps the squid wasn’t such a coward after all. Surely he knew he was about to walk into a room full of bots that were not happy with him….

\--

Nemesis

Megatron quirked a brow at Dreadwing in mild surprise. The seeker was kneeling before him, covered in scratches and gouges, minor energon leaks seeping through a few of them. That the Air Commander chose to present himself to him in this way, rather than head to the medbay first, was admirable. It showed honesty and integrity, unlike that Starscream, whom _always_ tried to get patched up first before reporting in. To hide the _physical_ signs of his failures.

However, there were always other ways to tell if someone had failed. A nervous twitch of a wing. The lack of optic contact and so on. From Dreadwing’s low wings and gaze fixed upon the floor, Megatron knew that his damaged appearance wasn’t due to a hard won victory.

“The thief did this to you?” Megatron queried, a number of possibilities running through his processor. Was there more than one thief and their numbers caught him by surprise? He did know about the Autobot raid, of course, but he had assumed that was coincidental.

At this Dreadwing snorted harshly, a flicker of rage briefly replacing the expression of shame. “No, my Lord,” he growled. “Starscream and Phaseshot.”

Megatron’s optics narrowed as he took this in, not liking the implications. Perhaps that raid wasn’t so coincidental. “Were _they_ the thieves?” He wouldn’t put it past Starscream to pull such a thing off, especially with such an unknown entity such as Phaseshot working with him.

Dreadwing was shaking his head, before giving a fully detailed report. It turned out, the thief _was_ Skywarp, or what was left of him. From the brief glimpse Dreadwing had gotten of him before he was attacked by Starscream and Skywarp taken away by Wheeljack, the seeker had no longer had proper wings, was covered with old wounds and had mismatched optics. That Dreadwing may have accidently killed Skywarp angered him, only tempered by his near success in capturing Starscream.

This brought up many questions. How did Skywarp get to this planet? Obviously, he didn’t arrive with the Autobots: Ratchet would _never_ allow a bot to run around in his condition! The seeker either somehow found his way here on his own, or with another’s aid, the latter being more likely. Skywarp was stealing energon for more than just himself, that was for certain.

Wheeljack? From Dreadwing’s report, the Wrecker seemed particularly angered at what he did to Skywarp. No…these thefts were happening long before Wheeljack returned to the planet. The other Autobots? Again, Ratchet wouldn’t let any bot walk around in a half-repaired state.

Regardless of who the seeker was working for, the Autobot’s had him _now,_ with little doubt Ratchet would be able to bring him back to full function. Skywarp’s steadfast loyalty to Starscream would ensure the seeker would now aid the Autobot’s for however long Starscream stayed with them. This meant they will have to contend with a foe that could teleport through anything and remain perfectly hidden in the process.

“Soundwave,” he growled, glancing toward the CIC. “It would appear our security measures will need to be tightened. Find ways to counter Skywarp’s capabilities.” The spymaster nodded in acknowledgement. “As for you, Dreadwing.” Megatron noticed the seeker’s flinched, clearly expecting some form of punishment. “Report to the medbay. When you are repaired I will assign you your next task.”

Dreadwing nodded, looking relieved as he stood and left the Commander Center. After the seeker left, Megatron frowned, concern briefly flickering across his scarred face. The Autobot’s forces were growing more formidable, a fact that did not please him. Gaining control of that energy source, this… _astral energy_ …has become even more critical if he was to crush them once and for all….

\--

Autobot Base

The wait for that ground bridge request felt like it was taking forever.

Starscream leaned against the wall, silently watching Ratchet and Jetfire continue to work on Skywarp. His view was occasionally distracted by a pacing Wheeljack, the Wrecker’s face displaying a mix of emotions. Frustration, anger, concern, hopelessness…he was an emotional wreck. Not that Starscream could blame him after the prophecy bomb Phaseshot had dropped. One that didn’t instill him with a lot of hope.

The white thread…he was almost positive represented him. Unraveling…going into bondrage? Never comes back together…never find a means to cure it? The purple…he was fairly certain that was Skywarp. He got to see the seeker’s spark once, in a moment that finally made him realize things had gotten too close between them. Since Wheeljack was obviously a part of this prophecy, that, logically, told him he had to be the ‘green’ thread, going by how the two interacted.

_Wheeljack rejects Skywarp…then an outside force comes in and destroys them both in some way._ Starscream tapped his chin as he continued to mull it over. _Phaseshot said it was a future he’s trying to prevent._ And it seemed like the relationship between Wheeljack and Skywarp was key to prevent it, but how would a relationship between them solve his bondrage issue? If that is what was being implied. And who was the ‘yellow’ thread?

He doubted this individual was on the planet yet and if he was interpreting the prophecy right, this individual had it in for both Wheeljack and Skywarp. The question was, was this individual a mutual enemy of those two? That seemed to be the logical explanation. He had a fairly good idea on who would have Skywarp on their ‘scrap list’. That included a particular bot he really hoped Prowl kept in prison, rather than ‘recruiting’ him. With the war though…the chances were high that idiot decided the risk was worth it….

Unfortunately, on Wheeljack’s side, Starscream just didn’t know him well enough to even have clue. It didn’t help that the virtue of being a Wrecker would make him a target, from the common criminal to a high ranking Decepticon. Perhaps he should talk to him about possible suspects…and about the prophecy in general. However, he suspected the Wrecker wouldn’t want to talk about it.

_If we are to prevent that outcome and I am right on what is needed, he’ll need to be convinced to do his part._ Starscream mentally groaned, getting a feeling it won’t be easy. Wheeljack was as stubborn as they come and that was _before_ taking his Wrecker pride into account.

He noticed said Wrecker had stopped pacing, his plating flaring a bit and hands clenching. “Got the request,” he announced.

Then tension in the room became thick enough to slice with a blade….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was tempted to add a little funny bit where Megatron hears Knockout shriek at Dreadwing's condition, but I decided KO would likely be more professional then that....


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yarzon.

While Bumblebee inputted the coordinates, Starscream glanced around the room, taking stock of everyone’s expressions. Phaseshot seemed uncertain, his wings flicking occasionally in apparent anxiety. Optimus looked concerned but otherwise calm. Jetfire and Ratchet were dividing their attention from working on Skywarp to the now open ground bridge. Arcee was standing beside him, one hand on his arm in a comforting gesture: huh, he only just noticed he was trembling a bit. No doubt due to his own anxiety over seeing Yarzon again.

As for the rest of the team, Bulkhead and Bumblebee appeared nervous. Starscream suspected in Bulkhead’s case the Wrecker was more worried about Wheeljack. Out of everyone, Wheeljack was the most visibly tense: he was staring at the open bridge, his hands clenching and unclenching.

“Now I know a few of us are upset with him,” Arcee spoke up as they waited. “But let’s try to avoid laying it on him before he makes it through. Don’t want him running back through screaming…after all.”

Stascream heard Wheeljack snort and he glanced his way to see he had folded his arms in, a ‘no promises’ expression on his face. He rolled his optics and made sure he was between him and the ground bridge, though he doubted he would be much of a roadblock to an angry Wrecker. Optimus, he noted, had stepped up beside him, perhaps for the same reason. A part of him wondered if Yarzon would recognize him.

A klik pasted, then another, but no sign of any one or thing coming through. Was Yarzon having second thoughts? Then, _something_ flew in, landing with a crash at his feet. The object was white and mostly spherical, a number of dents across it’s frame. Did this thing hit the ‘walls’ of the bridge on the way? Around him he heard a few bots activating their weapons.

“Wait!” he called out, holding out a hand. “I’m fairly certain this is just a medical drone….” 

“Or ‘was’?” Arcee quipped, having knelt down to poke at it. It beeped feebly in response. “I hope everything is alright….”

Frowning, Starscream took a couple of steps closer to the ground bridge, a number of possibilities running through his processor. A cry for help? Was he under attack? Needed assistance in some other way?

He was about to start stepping into the portal to find out when he thought he heard something over the noise of the ground bridge. Sounded like…cursing? Now curious, he stepped in, ignoring the few cries of protest behind him. He didn’t have to go far to see the source.

Yarzon was struggling to push a mover drone through the portal, swearing in Quintesson as he did so. The drone was carrying a decent sized crate and kept repeating ‘warning: no traversable path detected’. Starscream felt both relieved and amused that the delay was not due to something serious.

“It would appear your drones are unable to parse a temporal rift as an ‘appropriate path’,” he announced. “Need some assistance?”

The Quintesson squawked in shock, then sighed in resignation. “Yes, please…and thank you for not just shutting this thing down with me in the middle…,” he replied.

“The other drone _mostly_ making it through likely delayed the impatient flipping off of the switch,” Starscream remarked as took over pushing the stubborn drone.

“How badly damaged…?” Yarzon asked.

“It’s intact…but dented and unresponsive.”

“Kazuk…,” the Quintesson swore. “I hope none of the data was lost….”

Starscream was about to ask ‘what kind of data’ when they emerged from the portal and saw there was a bit of commotion. The medical drone had ‘woken up’ and was now buzzing around Skywarp, beeping and chirping in alarm. Both Ratchet and Jetfire were attempting to catch it, but it was easily evading their grasp. The others were watching with a mix of bemusement and confusion.

“Kazuk…I feared it would react like this when it detected him,” Yarzon sighed. “From Wheeljack’s tone…I suspected it was bad, but not….” The Quintesson cast his gaze to the ground, sorrow and regret on his face.

“Mind calling it off?” Ratchet growled irritably. “It’s in the way!”

“Of course,” Yarzon conceded before speaking a ‘heel’ command. The drone immediately flew over and hovered next to him, now in standby mode.

“I’m guessing that’s Skywarp’s personal medical drone?” Starscream remarked as he heard the ground bridge close behind him. 

“Yes, though he never cared much for it…shoved it out of the airlock more than once,” Yarzon grumbled. Starscream half-snorted half chuckled in response, not surprised to hear that. “It has a copy of all the reports I’ve made on his repairs, in hopes it would be of assistance….”

“Medical history of _any_ kind is always useful,” Ratchet remarked. 

At this point, Optimus cleared his vocalizer. “I welcome you to our base, old friend,” the Prime greeted. “Though I wish it was under better circumstances….”

“As do I…,” Yarzon agreed softly. The Quintesson then squinted at him, looking mildly confused. “Orion?” he asked after a few nanos.

“Indeed, though that name has long been left behind,” Optimus confirmed with a smile. “I am now called Optimus Prime.”

The Quintesson simply nodded before looking his way. “Now that I am no longer in that admittedly disorienting ‘temporal rift’ as you called it,” he began. “I can see you haven’t changed much since I last saw you, Nightfire.”

“You know it’s _Starscream_ now,” Starscream countered, though he was smirking, then frowned slightly. “And it’s clear time hasn’t been kind to you, Master: you’re a bit…worn around the edges….” He had noticed the tips of his tentacles were now grey and his optics weren’t as bright as they used to be.

“Time and other factors,” the Quintesson sighed. “And how many times have I asked you not to call me ‘Master’?”

Starscream huffed and folded his arms. “I call you that as a sign of _respect_ …Master.”

Yarzon narrowed his optics, though he caught a hint of mischievousness in them. “Shall I start calling you by the first name you used? Thirteen?”

“Primus, no!” Starscream protested with a squawk. “I _only_ had you call me that because my language protocols were bare struts then!” There were a few chuckles around.

Yarzon was now looking toward Skywarp’s prone form, once more, regret once more upon his face. He started to move toward him, but Wheeljack stepped in his way. The two stared at each other, Yarzon’s mildly confused faced against the Wrecker’s barely contained rage.

“Wheeljack,” Optimus stated warningly.

“This is your fault…,” Wheeljack had growled at the Quintesson, his frame tense. “You knew what state he was in…yet _you_ kept puttin’ him in harm’s way!”

Yarzon was looking away now. “It was his choice…,” he countered quietly.

“ _His_ choice!?” Wheeljack bellowed. “How the frag-“

“I was fully prepared to use my drones to do the thefts, even to search for and mine unclaimed deposits like I had on other worlds.,” Yarzon interrupted, looking at him in the optics. “However, once we found out the _Nemesis_ and Starscream were on this world, he wanted…no… _insisted_ …on taking a more active role. He told me he was tired of being useless…of doing nothing but sitting around on the ship.” A sigh as he looked down. “I argued with him about it for many cycles, tried to convince him it was too dangerous for a bot in his condition…but he wouldn’t give in. I feared he would start ‘raiding’ without my consent or knowledge anyway, so I felt I had no choice but to compromise.”

Starscream sighed, rubbing his face in exasperation, but not at all feeling surprised. Skywarp was…Skywarp…after all.

“So he is as stubborn and impulsive as you are, Jackie,” Bulkhead chuckled, smacking his fellow Wrecker on the back, sending him staggering for a moment.

“Still, Yarzon,” Starscream interjected before Wheeljack could recover. “You do still bare some blame for what happened today. You should have known some action would be eventually taken in retaliation and the predictability of the supply runs did not help matters….”

“Yes…,” the Quintesson quietly agreed. He appeared to want to say more on that subject but decided against it. “In hopes of making it up to him…and you, I have brought something that I hope will speed up his restoration.” He was gesturing toward the crate he had brought with him.

“What’s in there?” Jetfire was asking as he approached the crate.

“A project I kept him in the dark about,” Yarzon explained. “One I hoped to eventually reveal to him, but….” Another sigh. “My lack of knowledge on repairing Cybertronian biology proved to be a great hinderance….”

By now Jetfire had opened the crate and his optics were wide in shock. “I can see why you kept this from him,” he confessed as he lifted something out of it. The moment the seeker had lifted it into view, Starscream understood as well.

It was a seeker wing.

\--

When he saw the wing, Ratchet knew he had to inspect it for himself. A seeker’s wings were fantastic pieces of engineering but can be painstaking to repair, let alone build from scratch, due to their complex sensor network. If Yarzon had succeeded in building even a fraction of said sensor network, it would cut down Skywarp’s restoration time significantly.

And, form the quick scan of the wing Jetfire was holding, it appeared the Quintesson had somewhat succeeded in that. In the crate were the rest of the wings and he quickly inspected them as well: of them, the two minors were closest to completion. “Not bad for someone inexperienced in rebuilding Cybertronian biology…,” he remarked, impressed.

“And lack of reference…,” Yarzon stated with a thankful nod. “I had precious little of Skywarp’s original wings to go by…and even less of his twins. Skywarp, at least, was able to remind me on what they originally looked like.”

“I thought you kept him in the dark about this?” Arcee asked.

“He always knew that I would eventually rebuild his wings,” Yarzon clarified. “He didn’t know I had been working on them in secret, little by little, for the past several vorns. I already knew they would be the most tedious to rebuild, so I had figured starting them sooner rather than later would decrease unnecessary wait time for him to fly again.”

“But why keep it from him in the first place?” Phaseshot queried. “Surely that would have helped him keep his faith in you?”

“I can answer that,” Starscream interjected. “It was to delay the onset of flight envy. Skywarp can be a very impatient bot and if he found out Yarzon was working on his wings, the anticipation would have negated any measures used to prevent flight envy from taking hold.” Yarzon was nodding in confirmation.

“A precaution that turned out to be especially necessary when his fuel pump continued to vex me…,” the Quintesson sighed. “I was starting to fear I simply didn’t have the knowledge and experience to make him flight capable again. It is…part of the reason why I didn’t argue with him when he declared his intention to stay. To force him to stay with me…with the likelihood that he may never fly again would have been cruel….”

“You don’t have to leave, Master…,” Starscream remarked softly.

Yarzon visibly twitched. “I could barely help Skywarp, Starscream…how could I help you with your problem?” He then turned around and added in a whisper. “I would only get in the way….”

“If not with my bondrage problem, then you could assist with stopping Megatron,” Starscream persisted. “You have a ship-.”

“A _scout_ ship,” Yarzon corrected. “One that could never stand against the _Nemesis_.”

“I’m not saying to go head to head with that dreadnaught!” Starscream growled. “I’m talking surveillance, which we badly need due to our limited sensor range in this base!”

“We rely heavily on our human allies,” Optimus elaborated. “However, their technology is…inferior…to our own and we are limited to what we can build ourselves. The Decepticons, meanwhile can easily return to Cybertron to replace equipment…and control most of the exposed energon deposits upon this world. Your aid would help equalize this power imbalance.”

Yarzon was quiet for a few nanos. “It could…but why should I?” he retorted. “This is not my war….”

“Hold on, how is it _not_ your war?” Arcee protested. “You helped us _fight_ a war before!”

“Helping you stop my kind from enslaving you is not the same as helping you fight between yourselves….” Was the next counterargument.

“Even if the enemy side is, essentially, practicing your kinds ways?” Starscream questioned, a note of disgust in his tone.

Another flinch from the Qunitesson. “Please reopen the ground bridge,” he requested. “I need to prepare my ship for a long journey….”

“What…you can’t just-“ Wheeljack started to protest, but Phaseshot shot out a hand and silenced him.

“Have you forgotten?” the beastformer asked, before starting to chant a spell.

“Forgotten what?” Yarzon started to turn around just as a yellow flash briefly blinded all of them.

“ _Heya irrui llusraddal ir?_ ”

That sounded like Phaseshot…but was in his place was definitely _not_ Phaseshot….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> 'Have you forgotten us?'


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turning Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ) ( = Translated speech.

t couldn’t be. There was no way. They were all dead!

Yet, the creature now before him….

Long serpentine body. Four arms with long, spindly hands. Glowing orb in the chest. Cone shaped head, with large audios, small optics and expressive lips atop a slender neck. A Vehilse…it could be nothing else. A young one, from how small it was and the shine of it’s gold and bronze plating, but a Vehilse none-the-less.

)Long ago…you crashed upon our world…,( the young Vehilse stated. )We took you in, taught you our ways. When your people came and decided to destroy us, you tried to stop them. Do you remember?(

“I remember…,” Yarzon admitted. “What happened to you is what drove me to fight against my own…to try to prevent your fate, or worse, from happening to anyone else….”

)Yet you have stopped fighting….( The Vehilse slid forward with the grace he knew them for. Yet…there was something ‘off’ about it, couldn’t quite place what though. )And those you once fought against still run their campaigns of death and enslavement.(

“After I helped the Cybertronian’s repel their would-be enslavers, I returned to my homeworld to try to convince my people to change…instead, I was tried and exiled by the Hierarchy,” Yarzon explained. “I had lost any power and influence I had left.”

)From within, perhaps.( The Vehilse was now circling him. )But does not the ship you have enable you to warn other’s yet to be reached by their cruelty?(

_Hmm…for one so young, he seems rather wise._ Yes, that was what was _off_ about this individual.

“I did not have said ship for some time after I was exiled, at least, not in a space worthy shape,” Yarzon replied. “I found it scuttled in a junk yard on the homeworld and it took me a very long time to restore it.”

)Yet once you had it why did you not use it as a beacon of warning?( The Vehilse had stopped in front of him.

Yarzon lowered his gaze. “I found Skywarp…,” he answered softly. “And through him I learned what became of the people I had once saved.” He sighed deeply. “I was horrified to learn that instead of my people enslaving them…they had essentially enslaved themselves. I see now that I should have stayed…helped them avoid that fate…but at the time I feared the general populous wouldn’t have tolerated _any_ Quintesson among them. Now the war they are in may very well drive them to extinction….”

)And yet you do not wish to attempt to rectify your past mistake?( the Vehilse questioned, his voice sounding strained, like he was struggling to focus.

“And how could I even begin to do that?” Yarzon countered. “I am but one being….”

)A single pebble cast into a mountain can cause a landslide,( was the Vehilse’s retort.

That was _not_ a Vehilse saying. Yarzon narrowed his optics in suspicion. “Who are you?” he asked.

)I was once called _Aenallid_.(

“’Once’?” Yarzon echoed. He was certain now this was not a Vehilse…not a _living_ one, at least.

There was a tired, resigned smile. Then ‘Aenallid’s’ expression softened into sorrow as he spread his arms wide. “My first life…,” he began, now speaking Cybertronian. “Gifted with foresight…tried to use it to avoid my fate of death at the hands of your kin. I learned the hard way that trying to avoid your fate is futile…and oft results it being far less pleasant when it reaches you anyway….” Behind him, Yarzon thought he saw Wheeljack flinch. 

Then, before his optics, ‘Aenallid’ dissipated into golden particles, then reformed into the Autobot he recognized as Phaseshot. The strange Cybertronian was on one hand and knee, panting, clearly exhausted. Arcee, Starscream and Optimus were at his side quickly, helping him to his feet.

“That…was more than an illusion, wasn’t it?” Arcee was asking him.

“It was _supposed_ to be _just_ an illusion,” Phaseshot was sighing as he leaned against Optimus for support. “Actually, _changing_ into my first form was unexpected…fickle magic….” With a grumble he added: “Or the All decided to play a joke….”

Magic…the very thing that created Starscream. Yarzon found himself both fascinated, yet wary. This Phaseshot was clearly more than what he appeared to be and he found his scientist side reeling with possibilities. That curiosity however was almost immediately tempered when it dawned on him on why he saw what he just saw.

“So…,” he began, his voice quivering and tentacles twisting slightly. “Was the point of that display an attempt to convince me to stay?”

“Basically,” Phaseshot admitted.

“Thus join the side that is barely better than the ones you fight against?” Yarzon grumbled. “A ‘lesser of two evils’ that may as well not be a choice at all?”

“Yarzon,” Optimus spoke up. “While it was true the Autobot’s once stood for the status quo of oppression…a denial of choice to live beyond our function…that was before I had fully accepted my place as a Prime. Once I had…I choose to lead the Autobot’s by your own words.”

“And what ‘words’ would those be?” Yarzon demanded.

“That freedom is the right of every sentient being.”

Yarzon stiffened, his tentacles drooping, optics widening. He remembered saying those words…long ago….

“Is not oppression worth fighting against…,” Phaseshot commented. “No matter who is being oppressed by whom?”

It was, but….

“You think being just one being cannot make a difference…,” Starscream added. “But you have already proven that to be not the case. You could have left me in that stasis pod…done nothing with me….”

That was true…if he hadn’t awakened Starscream…hadn’t bothered helping him…Cybertron would likely still be under Quintesson yolk.

“Pebbles causing landslides…,” Phaseshot stated, gesturing with a wide sweep of a hand. “One change…one decision…can cause a ripple effect across the world…the galaxy…the universe.”

“You speak of Chaos Theory…,” Yarzon remarked, now getting what that saying was about.

“From my experience…it is no _theory_.” Phaseshot pushed away from Optimus and was now standing up straight. “The winds of change are always blowing…you can either stand against it…hide from it…be blown away by it…or….”

Now _that_ was a Vehilse saying…and he found himself unable to resist completing it. “Or become it…,” he completed softly.

“Master…you were the source of wind once…,” Starscream stated, approaching. “If you were to add yours to our own…it may be just enough to finally push back the bad wind Megatron is blowing everywhere….” Bulkhead and Bumblebee started snickering for some reason, prompting a confused look from the seeker.

“Aw come on!” Wheeljack cried out dramatically. “It’s bad enough this has become metaphor central…but can ya leave out the _crony_ ones!?” A few bots rolled their optics. Yarzon, however, found himself chuckling, closing his own optics, finding himself thinking about Skywarp.

That seeker…never gave up once he had a goal in mind. He had kept fighting, no matter the odds. Starscream was much the same, he recalled: Yarzon remembered all too well the fire in then Nightfire’s optics. A fire he could see had been reignited now.

Yarzon remembered when he was like them once. Kept fighting…kept looking for a way to change things, no matter how many times his kind laughed and put him down. What had happened to him? After freeing Cybertron…had that been enough for him? Was that why he stopped?

He succeeded once…why stop at just one win? Quintessons never stopped at just one success, even if most of them were morally repugnant. He was being a poor Quintesson in that regard….

Ha. Now that was ironic.

Yarzon breathed in and out again slowly. He opened his optics and looked around at them all. “I…I am not sure how much help I will ultimately be…but I will do my best to help you end this war,” he announced.

There was a stunned silence, then some cheering….

…And Starscream scooping him up into a hug.

Embarrassing, but for the first time in too long, he felt like he was where he belonged….

\--

Nemesis

It took longer than expected for Dreadwing to return. Megatron had started to wonder if the Air Commander’s injuries were more serious than either of them thought. However, once the seeker had entered the Command Center, the Warlord immediately recognized the true reason for the delay.

Dreadwing’s frame was not only free of any damage, but polished to such a high degree he could see himself in it. Odd…Dreadwing was not _normally_ into such things.

“Knockout… _insisted…_ ,” Dreadwing growled in response to his inquisitive expression.

Megatron sighed: that medic’s standards for ‘beauty’ was technically a waste of resources. He allowed that ‘quirk’ to persist only to ensure his loyalty. Sure, he could thrash him about to ‘beat it out’ of him, but that kind of punishment he reserved for Starscream alone.

“Do you recall the new energy signature I had mentioned to you the day you joined us?” Megatron asked.

“I do, my Lord,” Dreadwing replied. “I assume we have found a suitable source?”

“We have indeed.” Pressing a button on a console, Megatron brought up a world map on the viewscreens. Locations were circled on almost every major landmass. “I will need you to lead teams of drones to gather the materials and supervise the construction of the equipment needed to harvest this energy. Soundwave will assist you and provide the list of materials needed and the schematics. Seeing we still lack a functional space bridge, we have to…liberate…the supplies we need from the humans.”

On cue, Soundwave stepped forward and handed the Air Commander a datapad. For a klik, Dreadwing was silent as he looked over the pads contents. It did not escape the Warlord’s notice that the Air Commander was looking more and more concerned.

“Forgive me, my Lord,” Dreadwing finally spoke up. “But it appears we are building more than one of this…generator?”

“Indeed, Dreadwing,” Megatron confirmed. “The Autobots are well aware of our plans and with their human allies no doubt also keeping watch, they will try to stop us. To increase our chance of success, I ask you to…acquire…these supplies as discreetly as possible.”

“And make more than we need in hopes they don’t find them all,” Dreadwing commented. “However…they have Phaseshot….”

_…Those that crave and abuse power will ultimately be destroyed by it…._

Megatron’s brow twitched at that name and the unwanted memory of said bot’s warning to him. “Oh there will be no…leftovers…Dreadwing,” Megatron stated after shoving that memory out of his processor. He turned and gestured to the map on the viewscreens. “All these locations marked? We will be tapping into _all_ of them….”

Ground bridge or not…Phaseshot or otherwise…there was no way they would be able to protect all those locations….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so this 'mini-series', Trust & Loyalty, is finally at an end, but the main series, 'Dangerous Secrets' is not by any means (please let me know your thoughts!). Next fic in this series will be titled 'Calm before Chaos' and it will be styled more like 'Living with Seekers'. This means I won't need to wait to finish the whole thing before posting, as each chap, while all connected, are more self-contained. I'll start posting this the Sat after next, as next Sat I have a one-shot within this AU I'd like to post first (Skywarp focused).  
> After 'Calm before Chaos', we'll be _finally_ going into the Unicron event in a fic tentatively called 'Transmogrification', followed by 'Night Orion'. These two fics I may merge together, but we'll see...as I haven't even properly started writing either yet.  
> After _that_ well be either be another 'Living with Seekers' style fic or a series of one-shots, followed by the finale of 'Dangerous Secrets' called 'Pitch Black' (which as been screaming WRITE ME in my head for some time...but I technically can't as certain things before are not set in stone yet...)  
> I do have more ideas after that...including my version of the end of the official series, but I want to make it through 'Dangerous Secrets' first before making any announcements.  
> That is all...see you next Sat....

**Author's Note:**

> Will update on Saturdays.


End file.
